Tour de Force: My history-making Tour de France

by Mark Cavendish

Overview

From illness and mental health challenges to becoming the most successful British cyclist at the age of 22, Mark Cavendish shares his inspiring account of his record-breaking rise to the top of the world's biggest cycling stage at the 2021 Tour de France.

Deep down, Mark Cavendish thought he was finished. After illness, setbacks and clinical depression, the once fastest man in the world had been written off by most. And at the age of 36, even he believed his explosive cycling career would fade out with a whimper. The Manxman hadn't won a single Grand Tour stage in Italy, Spain, or France since 2016.

But then came his incredible resurrection at the 2021 Tour de France. Included on the Deceuninck Quick-Step team at the very last minute, only after Sam Bennett suffered an injury, Mark set about rewriting history. He claimed back the green jersey he first wore in 2011, and his four stage victories finally saw him matching Belgian legend Eddy Merckx's all-time record of 34 Tour de France stage wins. Cycling greats are never content, and Cavendish's dogged determination and inner strength had earned him the record that few believed he could ever achieve. This is his own intimate account of that race, right from the saddle of the miracle tour.

Praise for Tour de Force:

"The greatest comeback in sports history." —GQ magazine

"A miracle." —Eddy Merckx

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728265315
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	07/12/2022
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	364,769
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

MARK CAVENDISH is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter in the history of cycling and is the 'Tour de France's best sprinter of all time', according to L'Equipe. His achievements led to him winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year, as well as receiving an MBE from Her Majesty the Queen.

In the summer of 2021 Cav created history—in what many have called the greatest sporting comeback of all time—by equaling Eddy Merckx's long-standing record of 34 Tour de France stage wins and winning the green jersey for the second time in his career in the process. He currently rides for UCI World Team Deceuninck-Quick-Step.

Table of Contents

Part I The Return

Chapter 1 11 October 2020: Wevelgem, Belgium 3

Chapter 2 12 October: Wevelgem 8

Chapter 3 November: Essex, Belgium and Denmark 12

Chapter 4 Mid-December: Calpe, Spain 17

Chapter 5 Christmas and New Year: Calpe and Essex 25

Chapter 6 14 February 2021: Almería, Spain 31

Chapter 7 March: Belgium 37

Chapter 8 7 April: Scheldeprijs 44

Chapter 9 11-12 April: Tour of Turkey 51

Chapter 10 13-18 April: Tour of Turkey 56

Chapter 11 Late April: Essex 63

Chapter 12 4-12 May: Athens, Greece 66

Chapter 13 20 May: Villarrodrigo, Spain 71

Chapter 14 7-9 June: Belgium and Essex 77

Chapter 15 13 June: Tour of Belgium, stage 5, Turnhout-Beringen 82

Chapter 16 16-18 June: Quarrata, Italy 87

Chapter 17 18 June: Quarrata, Italy 91

Chapter 18 21 June: Quarrata, Italy 94

Chapter 19 21 June: Quarrata, Italy 97

Chapter 20 22 June: Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris 100

Chapter 21 24-25 June: Brest 104

Part II The Tour

Stage 1 26 June: Brest-Landerneau, 197.8km 111

Stage 2 27 Time: Perros-Guirec-Mûr-de-Bretagne, Guerlédan, 183.5km 122

Stage 3 28 June: Lorient-Pontivy, 182.9km 128

Stage 4 29 June: Redon-Fougères, 150.4km 139

Stage 5 30 June: Changé-Laval Espace Mayenne time trial, 27.2km 151

Stage 6 1 July: Tours-Châteauroux, 160.6km 159

Stage 7 2 July: Vierzon-Le Creusot, 249.1km 170

Stage 8 3 July: Oyonnax-Le Grand-Bornand, 150.8km 178

Stage 9 4 July: Cluses-Tignes, 144.9km 184

Stage 10 6 July: Albertville-Valence, 190.7km 196

Stage 11 7 July: Sorgues-Malaucène, 198.9km 205

Stage 12 8 July: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux-Nîmes, 159.4km 213

Stage 13 9 July: Nimes-Carcassonne, 219.9km 218

Stage 14 10 July: Carcassonnc-Quillan, 183.7km 229

Stage 15 11 July: Céret-Andorra la Vella, 191.31cm 234

Stage 16 13 July: Pas de la Case-Saint-Gaudens, 169km 241

Stage 17 14 July: Muret-Saint-Lary-Soulan (Col du Portet), 178.4km 244

Stage 18 15 July: Pau-Luz Ardiden, 129.7km 250

Stage 19 16 July: Mourem-Libourne, 2071cm 257

Stage 20 17 July: Libourne-Saint-Émilion time trial, 30.81cm 264

Stage 21 18 July: Chatou-Paris Champs-Élysées, 108.4km 267

Acknowledgements 277