World of Cycling: Why Cavendish’s 35th victory doesn’t matter

Only a week has passed since the start of the Tour de France, but it looks as though we may be treated to a race for the ages, as Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) trade blow for blow in their pursuit of the yellow jersey.

In this week’s instalment of the World of Cycling, Si Richardson is joined by GCN’s Conor Dunne and former British cyclo-cross champion Ian Field to discuss how UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma might approach the second week.

Also on the agenda is the premature departure of Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) from what is scheduled to be his final Tour. The British sprinter is due to retire at the end of the season and following his crash on stage 8, he suffered a fractured collarbone that forced him to leave the race in an ambulance. The Manxman will now remain tied on 34 Tour stage wins alongside Eddy Merckx, but does it matter?

Elsewhere, the team recaps a thrilling edition of the Giro d’Italia Donne and looks ahead to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Do Conor and Ian think Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) is now the favourite for the yellow jersey, or is Demi Vollering (SD Worx) still the woman to beat?

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