Mark Cavendish posts 31st stage win on Tour return

FOUGERES, France (AP) — Veteran sprinter Mark Cavendish sat on the road and cried Tuesday after posting a 31st stage win in the Tour de France on his return to cycling’s biggest race following a three-year absence.

Cavendish was not expected to be among the eight riders selected by Deceuninck-Quick Step for the Tour but was a last-minute inclusion in the squad following Sam Bennett’s withdrawal.

“I don’t know what to say,” Cavendish said. “Just being here is special enough. I didn’t think I would ever get to come back to this race.”

Cavendish powered to victory in a mass sprint at the end of the fourth stage in the western Brittany region. He edged Frenchman Nacer Bouhanni and Jasper Philipsen of Belgium.

The 36-year-old Cavendish is second on the all-time list for the most stage wins behind Belgian great Eddy Merckx on 34. Cavendish’s previous stage win dated back to 2016.

Cavendish has struggled in recent years, even taking a break from cycling after being diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus for the second time in 2018. He has enjoyed a resurgence with five stage wins after returning to Deceuninck-Quick Step for the 2021 season.

Bennett was forced to withdraw because of a right knee injury.

Mathieu van der Poel kept the race leader’s yellow jersey with an eight-second lead over Julian Alaphilippe ahead of Wednesday’s first time trial.

Riders staged a protest at the start of the 150.4-kilometer (93.4-mile) flat stage to complain about perceived dangerous racing conditions after a flurry of crashes in the previous days reignited the issue of road safety.

Having left the town of Redon in the western Brittany region to start Stage 4, the peloton rode at a moderate pace and all riders got off their bikes after about one kilometer. They waited silently for about a minute before hitting the road again.

After the crash-filled Stage 3, several riders have criticized race organizers for setting up what they considered a dangerous finale to a Tour stage, especially in the early days of the race when nervousness is at its highest level.

An early breakaway formed soon after the protest as Tour debutant Bret Van Moer and Pierre-Luc Perichon moved away from the pack. They collaborated well and had a maximum lead of more than three minutes before the peloton stepped up the pace.

Van Moer dropped Perichon with 14 kilometers left in a final shot at glory and produced a powerful effort to resist the peloton’s chase until the last 100 meters.

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