British cycling excellent Marcos Cavendish He ended his nearly two-decade career with a bang, racing to victory at the Tour de France Criterium in Singapore on Sunday (Nov 10).

Cavendish retired in style and won the exhibition event before Biniam Girmay and Jasper Philipsen in a final sprint after 57.5 kilometers in the saddle.

The day belonged to Manx missilewho vindicated himself by delaying his retirement after achieving his 35th stage victory in the Tour de France to break the record he held together with Eddy Merckx. On Sunday, Cavendish wore number 35 in recognition of his greatest achievement.

The Team GB Olympic silver medalist boasts 165 race wins, including the 2011 world road title, 17 stage wins at the Giro d’Italia and three at the Vuelta a España.

“I’m pretty excited,” Cavendish said after Sunday’s race. “I realized in the last five laps that it was the last 15 km of my race.

“I was nervous about crashing or something if I fought (for the lead). I really wanted it so bad. I’ve always loved this sport.”

Cavendish confirmed the day before the race that he had “completed” his racing career, with the aim of finishing speculation he would consider one last hurrah in 2025. The jury is still out on whether this would mean hanging up his bike for good after he called time on the 2023 season and then retired for this season.

“Sunday will be the last race of my professional cycling career. I’m lucky to have done what I love for almost 20 years and can now say I’ve achieved everything I can on the bike,” Cavendish wrote on Instagram.

“Cycling has given me a lot and I love this sport. I always wanted to make a difference and now I am ready to see what the next chapter has in store for me.”