Thursday 29 June 2017 13:55, UK
Mark Cavendish wants to break Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 Tour de France stage wins but may have to wait another year.
During an interview with The Times, the 32-year-old sprinter was adamant that even though he is "three, four weeks behind" on fitness he is intent on finishing the gruelling race.
But despite it being a sprinter-friendly Tour, with seven stages potentially up for grabs, Merckx's record may be safe for the moment.
"I truly believe that I am the best sprinter of the plane," Cavendish said. "And without the illness, I would be going in looking to pass the record this year. If I was planning on bailing after a week, I wouldn't be going to the Tour at all.
"The hardest thing for me is sprinting and losing. Not just because it's damaging to my morale, the team's morale, but it's actually good for the other sprinters' morale and once you are on a roll at the Tour you build on that.
"I had to ask myself, 'Would I do myself more damage not winning?' As soon as we start on Saturday, a lot of journalists will forget I have been ill, that I've had glandular fever."
