‘If you have my body type, don’t start cycling’

Mark Cavendish fought a carefully calculated but painful battle for his life on the first stage of the Tour de France from Florence to Rimini. Despite vomiting early and suffering from the stifling heat of the Italian summer, he managed to finish the stage in the last group and hold on for another day. “I saw stars, it was very difficult,” he admitted. For most of the Tour de France, the focus is on the front of the race. The first stage was also about who struggled and fell from the peloton, even on the first climb, over 100 miles from the finish, and then on the other series of climbs through the Apennines towards Rimini and the Adriatic coast. Cavendish, who hopes so Breaking the record for most stage wins in the Tour de France This year he fought his hard-fought battle surrounded by his teammates as they struggled to reach Rimini on time. It finally ended with Michael Murkoff leading him and his teammate. Cece Paul, Evgeny Fedorov and David Ballerini. Unfortunately Michele Gazzoli failed to finish the stage. Also Fabio Jacobsen (Dsm-firmenich PostNL) was part of the last group. Cycling news Watch as Cavendish pours cold water on his head and tries to recover from his try, quietly celebrating his stay on the podium with his teammates. He drives towards the Astana Kazakhstan team bus, amid a huge crowd chanting his name. After a brief moment of recovery, he stepped out of the bus to explain how he had survived the day, then prepared to follow his teammates and spend a brief moment in an ice bath in the team car. The latest racing content, interviews, features, reviews and buying guides from experts, straight to your inbox! “It was hot and it affected a lot of people,” said Cavendish, who appeared to have at least partially recovered from the enormous exertion. “If you have my body type now, don't start cycling because those days are over,” he said, referring to the struggle required even on the mountainous first stage of the Tour de France. “But we know what we're doing – that doesn't mean it's easy. We're not going to talk around. It was very difficult – it was very difficult, but we had a plan and we stuck to it. I would have liked to stay with the peloton, but I saw stars, it was very difficult.” Cavendish and his Team Astana Kazakhstan car had their destiny in their own hands, calculating the pace of their efforts during the series of climbs on the way to Rimini. “It's a bit boring, but that's how cycling has become,” Cavendish explained as many fans crowding around the team bus chanted his name and offered him support. “It's a nice story, but the time limit is not there to keep people out of the race. He is there for when people get sick or injured and keep going.” Cavendish managed to hold on for another day and is expected to have some problems in the second stage in Bologna due to the initially flat roads. His first chance to fight for victory will be on the stage to Turin, where the first group of races is expected to start. Get unlimited access to all our Tour de France coverage, including breaking news, analysis from our journalists on the ground of every stage of the race as it happens and more. Find out more.

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