Top sprinter Mark Cavendish announces retirement from pro cycling

SINGAPORE (AP) — Mark Cavendish, one of the best road sprinters in cycling history, plans to retire on Sunday after competing in the Tour de France Criterium.

The 39-year-old Cavendish broke Eddy Merckx’s long-standing record for most career Tour de France stage wins with his 35th victory this past July.

“I am lucky enough to have done what I love for 20 years and I can now say that I have achieved everything that I can on the bike,” the Isle of Man native wrote Saturday on Instagram.

“Cycling has given me so much and I love the sport, I’ve always wanted to make a difference in it and now I am ready to see what the next chapter has in store for me.”

Nicknamed the “Manx Missile,” Cavendish confirmed that Sunday’s competition will be “the final race of my professional cycling career.”

Cavendish initially planned to retire after the 2023 season but changed course and returned with the goal of passing Merckx for Tour de France stage wins.

He had equaled Merckx’s mark of 34 wins during the 2021 Tour, though unlike the Belgian great, Cavendish never won the overall title.

Cavendish won stages at all three Grand Tours — the others are the Giro d’Italia and Spanish Vuelta — and became a world champion in 2011.

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