Mark Cavendish clinches ‘incredible’ Stage 4 win at Tour Colombia, pays tribute to Astana Qazaqstan team-mates

Mark Cavendish paid tribute to his Astana Qazaqstan team-mates after clinching a sprint victory on Stage 4 of Tour Colombia.

It was a remarkable team effort from Astana to help lead Cavendish to success ahead of Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and Nelson Soto (Petrolike) in second and third respectively.

“When you see that sprint through and how the boys worked, you can see how I wanted to ride one more year. The work from my boys, and from Movistar as well, to bring myself and Fernando [Gaviria] back into contention was incredible. I’m super, super happy with it.”

It was a fine way for Cavendish to start his 2024 season as he kicks off his 19th year on the WorldTour.

Cavendish is aiming for at least one more stage win at the Tour de France to break out of a tie with Eddy Merckx for the all-time record of 34.

And on this showing, the 38-year-old is in good shape and his team is working effectively.

Inspired by Alexey Lutsenko, they held off an attack from Petrolike’s Jose Ramon Muniz with three kilometres remaining as they led Cavendish out for victory and complete a second stage win for Astana at Tour Colombia after Harold Tejada’s triumph on Wednesday.

The Tour de France starts on June 29. Cavendish will be looking to put last year’s event behind him after he was forced to abandon the race following a crash having finished second on Stage 7 the day before.