Mark Cavendish turns Roman gladiator in marvellous Giro d'Italia flourish

Huge emotion for British sprinter as stage success sets up bid for Tour de France record in his last season as a professional

Mark Cavendish - Mark Cavendish turns Roman gladiator in marvellous Giro d'Italia flourish
There's no hiding the joy on Mark Cavendish's face as he crosses the line at the end of the Giro d'Italia Credit: AFP/Luca Bettini

In a golden evening’s glow here in the Eternal City, Mark Cavendish proved that he, too, remained somehow imperishable. Less than a week after tearfully announcing his retirement from professional cycling, and amid whispers that his ferocity as a sprinter was on the wane, this granite-willed 38-year-old conjured one of his most staggering tricks yet, surging clear to win the final stage of his final Giro d’Italia with a gloriously unexpected flourish. It was as if, in the shadow of the Colosseum, he felt inspired to honour this place’s gladiatorial past.

Just to magnify the occasion, it was Geraint Thomas, with the agony of relinquishing the maglia rosa still fresh, who led him home. After the Welshman’s contribution left him in a perfect position on the home straight to bolt clear of Alex Kirsch and Fernando Gaviria, Cavendish did not disguise his debt of gratitude for such an act of selflessness. “He’s so special,” he said of Thomas. “For 25 years he has been one of my best friends. You see how optimistic and upbeat he is. He’s always glass-half-full. More than a bike rider, he’s a f------ good person and friend.”

Cavendish was so overcome, he could barely finish his sentences. Turning to the Italian journalists, he grinned: “It’s like one of those stories you guys tell so well. You can only tell it with your hands.” Even by his standards, he has been through the emotional mangle at this Giro. No sooner had he held a press conference to confirm that he was stepping away from the sport than he reminded the world that he was still a force of nature when glory beckoned. This triumph, achieved when his doubters least expected it, protected his feat of winning a stage in each of the seven Giros he has entered.

Such is Cavendish’s immaculate sense of theatre, attention now shifts inescapably to the Tour de France in five weeks’ time, where he can finally surpass Eddy Merckx with a 35th stage win. But these thoughts did not detain him unduly, as he let the improbability of his last act as a racer in Italy wash over him. “It’s pretty overwhelming,” he said. “I’m very fortunate to race with some of the most talented and interesting riders of any generation I can remember. Every win of mine has had a different meaning, a different resonance. I’m very happy just to have made it through these three weeks. And now this? I couldn’t have ended my career here any better than winning a Giro stage in Rome. It’s really beautiful. It’s perfect.”

Quite so, even if it was hardly the denouement that anybody had envisaged. Certainly, Thomas did not expect to be playing the page boy, having protected the pink jersey all the way until a gut-wrenching time-trial defeat by Primoz Roglic on the climb to Monte Lussari. The 40-second margin handed the Slovenian the privilege of riding into Rome as the champion-elect: a chastening sight for Thomas, but one he accepted with his customary grace, offering his congratulations en route as they cycled side-by-side.

Sometimes, these valedictory closing stages are distinguished only by their processional quality. Except Thomas had one more task to fulfil, gliding to the front of the peloton to act as Cavendish’s lead-out man. It was a stirring spectacle: that of two brilliant British sportsmen, one a Tour de France winner and the other a sprinter of singular longevity, combining forces to finish the script in a gruelling Giro for them both.

The scenario was reminiscent of the role that Bradley Wiggins performed for Cavendish in Paris in 2012. Except Wiggins had already wrapped up the yellow jersey by that point, while Thomas was still licking his wounds. Not that he is the type to lapse into self-pity, as he showed by tearing through the final circuit of central Rome just when Cavendish needed him most.

“I made the prediction that he would win this, so I had to make it happen,” Thomas said. “I was just there and I saw that he only had Luis León Sánchez with him, so I thought, ‘Help a brother out.’” He played his part flawlessly, even if the pain of falling short to Roglic cut deep. The 14-second gap between first and second was the fourth narrowest in Giro history, a gut-wrenching near-miss that brought Thomas a torrent of sympathy. “I had to stop reading my text messages, because I was starting to well up,” he reflected. “It has been a great race. I might be 37, but I feel 27.”

For Cavendish, there was the neatest symmetry on this pristine Roman night. His very first grand tour stage win had come at the Giro, in 2008, and here he was, 15 years later, appearing to bring the story full circle. He knows, though, that it could yet be a mere prelude to satisfying his one consuming thirst, with the chance to haul himself above Merckx in July with that elusive No 35. You would imagine his contentment might be complete by now. But this would be to underestimate Cavendish, truly one of the most remorseless winners of all.

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