British sprinter Mark Cavendish broke the record for the most Tour de France stage wins in history with his sprint finish victory during Stage 5 of what is set to be his last ride in the prestigious race.
Cavendish, 39, has now won a record-setting 35 Tour de France stages, cementing his status as the best sprinter in the history of the competition’s 111 editions. He previously jointly held the record of 34 stage victories with Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx.
After his record-breaking triumph in Saint Vulbas on Wednesday, Cavendish said his and his team’s goal for the 2024 Tour de France was to win at least one stage, even though doing so would be “a big gamble.”
“You have to go all in and we’ve done it,” Cavendish said. “We worked exactly what we wanted to do.”
Cavendish won the first of his Tour stages in 2008 but has struggled since 2021 to add to his impressive tally — until today.
This victory served as the ultimate last-chance comeback for Cavendish following a slew of disappointing circumstances surrounding the Tour. The Brit was set to retire at the end of last season but returned for a final Tour de France after he crashed out of last year’s race during its eighth stage. This year, Cavendish got off to a rocky start as he appeared to struggle with heat-related issues in the early stages of the race.
The top 10 contenders for the yellow jersey remain unchanged after Stage 5 with Slovenian Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates still occupying the top spot after his dominant Stage 4 win on Tuesday.
Biniam Girmay, who made history as the first Eritrean and Black rider to win a Tour de France stage on Monday, has moved up to the top spot in the contest for the green jersey (points classification) as he successfully rocked up sprinting points along today’s flat 110-mile route.
Here’s a full look at the 2024 Tour de France standings after five days of riding.
Tour de France Stage 5 results
| Position | Rider | Times | Gap |
| 1 | Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) | 04h 08′ 46” | – |
| 2 | Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) | 04h 08′ 46” | – |
| 3 | Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) | 04h 08′ 46” | – |
| 4 | Arnaud De Lie (Lotto–Dstny) | 04h 08′ 46” | – |
| 5 | Fabio Jakobsen (Team dsm–firmenich PostNL) | 04h 08′ 46” | – |
| 6 | Pascal Ackermann (Israel – Premier Tech) | 04h 08′ 46” | – |
| 7 | Arnaud Demare (Arkéa–B&B Hote) | 04h 08′ 46” | – |
| 8 | Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché – Wanty) | 04h 08′ 46” | – |
| 9 | Biniam Girmay (Intermarché – Wanty) | 04h 08′ 46” | – |
| 10 | Marijn van den Berg (EF Education–EasyPost) | 04h 08′ 46” | – |
TOUR DE FRANCE: Recap, results and standings after Stage 4
Tour de France general classification standings after Stage 5
| Position | Rider | Times | Gap |
| 1 | Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) | 23h 15′ 24” | – |
| 2 | Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) | 23h 16′ 09” | + 00h 00′ 45” |
| 3 | Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) | 23h 16′ 14” | + 00h 00′ 50” |
| 4 | Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) | 23h 16′ 34” | + 00h 01′ 10” |
| 5 | Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) | 23h 16′ 38” | + 00h 01′ 14” |
| 6 | Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) | 23h 16′ 40” | + 00h 01′ 16” |
| 7 | Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) | 23h 16′ 56” | + 00h 01′ 32” |
| 8 | Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) | 23h 16′ 56” | + 00h 01′ 32” |
| 9 | Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) | 23h 18′ 44” | + 00h 03′ 20” |
| 10 | Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) | 23h 18′ 44” | + 00h 03′ 21” |
Tour de France jersey standings after Stage 5
- Yellow (general classification): Tadej Pogacar
- Green (points classification): Biniam Girmay
- Polka dot (mountains classification): Jonas Abrahamsen
- White (young rider classification): Remco Evenepoel
- Yellow numbers (teams classification): UAE Team Emirates
- Golden numbers (combativity award): Clément Russo
Tour de France Stage 6: How to watch, schedule, distance
Date: Thursday, July 4, 2024
Location: Mâcon to Dijon (France)
Distance: 101.6 miles (163.5 kilometers)
Type: Flat stage
Streaming: Peacock, FuboTV
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.