Britain’s Mark Cavendish signed off in style with victory in the Tour de France Criterium in Singapore on Sunday, claiming his 166th win of a glittering career.
The most successful sprinter in cycling history, who wore No.35 to mark his Tour de France stage wins record, told Eurosport: “Thank you very much. I couldn’t have wished for a better send-off.”
Cavendish was congratulated by other riders, high-fived fans and kissed his wife, Peta, as the curtain came down on a glorious career.
The 39-year-old signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans before the race and received a ‘wheel of honour’ on the start line.
Cavendish said he was in reflective mood five laps from the end of the the race, made up of 25 laps of a 2.3km course, and added: “I really wanted that so bad and I’m so proud to win [it] as my last professional race.”
Cavendish, who received a knighthood in October, won omnium silver at the 2016 Olympics, a road world title in 2011, 17 stages in the Giro d’Italia and three in the Vuelta a Espana. He is also a three-time madison world champion.
He raced his final Tour de France this summer and surged ahead of Eddy Merckx’s individual stage victories at cycling’s biggest race. There was speculation Cavendish would have another crack at the Tour when he responded “we’ll see” amid questions he could appear in 2025 but ahead of his final race on Sunday, he posted on Instagram: “My racing career … completed it.”