Mark Cavendish – Philippe Gilbert has ‘no hesitation’ that Manx Missile will break Tour de France win record

Eurosport expert Philippe Gilbert says he has “no hesitation” that Mark Cavendish will claim the outright record for most stage wins at the Tour de France.

The Manx Missile has not triumphed on the road since June last year, but Gilbert believes it remains a matter of when – not if – he wins again at the Tour.

“I was really happy to see that Cavendish found a team with Astana,” said Gilbert.

“I’m sure that he has this goal in mind and this is his main motivation to still be a cyclist today – to break the record of wins in the Tour.

“I have no hesitation, I know he can do it. I don’t think Cav needs advice, he’s one of the best sprinters ever and he will follow his instincts and make it.”

“I explain to everybody who’s never been at the Tour de France, you have amateurs that think they know cycling. But they can’t have an idea of what it’s like to ride as a professional, it’s another level,” he said.

“Then you have to go from professional to WorldTour, it’s an obvious step up. But you haven’t just got to step up to the Tour de France, it’s above the sport

“You’ve got the 170 best bike riders in the world. None of them are really doing their first Grand Tour, none of them are really coming back from injury, none of them are using the Grand Tour to prepare.

“The consequences of winning and losing that race are so much greater than anything. So you have the 170 best, all at the peak of their fitness for that year, all with not just the cycling world’s eyes on them, but the world’s eyes looking at them. It’s pretty nuts, not even just in the racing.

“Everything around it is just bigger, the highs, the lows. It’s so special.”

“Me coming to Astana, I don’t just want a job. If things aren’t right it’s not going to happen,” said Cavendish.

“Astana’s the perfect opportunity to win in sprints. It’s something the team hasn’t done before, but my god, they’ve got the capacity to do it. It’s really exciting.”

– – –