SINGAPORE — Mark Cavendish, renowned as one of the greatest sprinters in the history of cycling, concluded his illustrious career on a high note by winning the Tour de France Criterium held in Singapore on Sunday.

The 39-year-old athlete hails from the Isle of Man and made headlines earlier this year by surpassing the legendary Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx’s long-held record of the most stage wins in the Tour de France, achieving a total of 35 victories in July.

For his farewell race, Cavendish sported the number 35 on his jersey, marking an emotional moment in which he notched the 165th win of his professional career.

“I’m feeling quite emotional, to be honest,” said Cavendish. “It really hit me in the last five laps that this was the last 15 kilometers of my cycling journey.”

He claimed victory just ahead of fellow Belgian sprinters Jasper Philipsen and Arnaud De Lie.

“It was truly an amazing experience to share my final race with those riders, the bright future of sprinting, and with this new generation of sprinters,” Cavendish reflected.

Affectionately known as the “Manx Missile,” Cavendish had originally intended to retire following the 2023 season but made the decision to return in pursuit of breaking Merckx’s record for Tour stage wins.

Though Cavendish specialized as a pure sprinter and faced challenges in mountainous stages, he was unable to clinch an overall Tour title during his career.

In addition to his successes in the Tour, Cavendish also excelled in the other two Grand Tours, securing 17 stage wins in the Giro d’Italia and 3 in the Vuelta a España, and he achieved further accolades by becoming the world champion in 2011 in Copenhagen.