Tour de Force: My history-making Tour de France
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- Create Date：2022-07-17 06:16:44
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Mark Cavendish
- ISBN：1529149487
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Summary
'I pulled off my glasses and wiped my eyes。 "That was perhaps the last race of my career。。。"'
Deep down， Mark Cavendish thought he was finished。 After illness， setbacks and clinical depression， the once fastest man in the world had been written off by most。 And at the age of 36， even he believed his explosive cycling career would fade out with a whimper。 The Manxman hadn't won a single Grand Tour stage in Italy， Spain or France since 2016。
But then came his incredible resurrection at the 2021 Tour de France。 Included on the Deceuninck Quick-Step team at the very last minute， only after Sam Bennett suffered an injury， Mark set about rewriting history。 He claimed back the green jersey he first wore in 2011， and his four stage victories finally saw him matching Belgian legend Eddy Merckx's all-time record of 34 Tour de France stage wins。 Cycling greats are never content， and Cav's dogged determination and inner strength had earned him the record that few believed he could ever achieve。 This is his own intimate account of that race， right from the saddle of the miracle tour。
Deep down， Mark Cavendish thought he was finished。 After illness， setbacks and clinical depression， the once fastest man in the world had been written off by most。 And at the age of 36， even he believed his explosive cycling career would fade out with a whimper。 The Manxman hadn't won a single Grand Tour stage in Italy， Spain or France since 2016。
But then came his incredible resurrection at the 2021 Tour de France。 Included on the Deceuninck Quick-Step team at the very last minute， only after Sam Bennett suffered an injury， Mark set about rewriting history。 He claimed back the green jersey he first wore in 2011， and his four stage victories finally saw him matching Belgian legend Eddy Merckx's all-time record of 34 Tour de France stage wins。 Cycling greats are never content， and Cav's dogged determination and inner strength had earned him the record that few believed he could ever achieve。 This is his own intimate account of that race， right from the saddle of the miracle tour。
Reviews
Stephen Kirley
，
The list of superlatives used to describe Mark Cavendish is endless。 He’s not to everyone’s cup of tea but I think he’s a class act。 His tour comeback in 2021 was a real shot in the arm for many cyclists， myself included， in a post pandemic world with lots of ongoing restrictions。 The four stage wins he gleaned certainly helped brighten up a trying and testing period in my life。 To find out what they meant to Cav… you’ll need to read the book。
Chris McBurney
，
A perfect holiday read for a sport enthusiast。 I loved the little insights to his journey to return to the top of the sport。 An honesty that’s increasingly lacking in sporting books so I was grateful for that。 I expect there’ll be another book covering much of this when he retires。
Sara VA
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Great book for cycling fans of Cav。 First half is all the behind the scenes details of his 2020-21 off season and getting back to Quickstep， second half is stage by stage stories of the tour。 Focused on the 2021 Tour de France， it’s all the juicy details you want as a cycling fan from Cav’s point of view。 As with all cycling books， not sure how well it will age， but right now it’s a great read and leaves a blunt， honest legacy and moment in time recap of what might turn out to be Cav’s final tou Great book for cycling fans of Cav。 First half is all the behind the scenes details of his 2020-21 off season and getting back to Quickstep， second half is stage by stage stories of the tour。 Focused on the 2021 Tour de France， it’s all the juicy details you want as a cycling fan from Cav’s point of view。 As with all cycling books， not sure how well it will age， but right now it’s a great read and leaves a blunt， honest legacy and moment in time recap of what might turn out to be Cav’s final tour。 。。。more
Yaacov Brooks
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Listened to the audiobook and it was fantastic！ Its always good when the author narrates their own audiobook but this was super immersive。 It was like reliving watching the Tour， especially with Cav's detailed retelling of every meter of the road。 Can't wait to see Cav rocking those nat champ bands soon。 Listened to the audiobook and it was fantastic！ Its always good when the author narrates their own audiobook but this was super immersive。 It was like reliving watching the Tour， especially with Cav's detailed retelling of every meter of the road。 Can't wait to see Cav rocking those nat champ bands soon。 。。。more
Mel Haggart
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A must have for all cycling fans - it felt like I was there
Ioan
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Definitely in my top two cycling biographies！Very much written in Cav's unique way of communicating 😆 Definitely in my top two cycling biographies！Very much written in Cav's unique way of communicating 😆 。。。more
Rog the Jammy Dodge
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I have always been intrigued by what it takes to compete at the highest level in one of the world's greatest sporting events。 This is a truly fascinating and educational insight into the teams， the tactics， the training and the man that is Mark Cavendish， one of the top sprinters of all time。 As a feat of endurance and relating a comeback after several years in the wilderness， this book should also have struck more of an emotional and heart warming chord。。。。that just didn't come over。 I have always been intrigued by what it takes to compete at the highest level in one of the world's greatest sporting events。 This is a truly fascinating and educational insight into the teams， the tactics， the training and the man that is Mark Cavendish， one of the top sprinters of all time。 As a feat of endurance and relating a comeback after several years in the wilderness， this book should also have struck more of an emotional and heart warming chord。。。。that just didn't come over。 。。。more
Andrew Smith
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I’ve always thought of Mark Cavendish as a chopsy， in-your-face kind of guy。 The sort of person who’s permanently in a bad mood。 But then I heard a radio interview with him， in which he talked about the significant mental and physical health problems he’d suffered from since 2017 and I started to revise my view of him。 After being a star bike racer for many years he’d experienced a barren spell and it seemed unlikely that he’d manage to attain the same level of strength and form again。 But then I’ve always thought of Mark Cavendish as a chopsy， in-your-face kind of guy。 The sort of person who’s permanently in a bad mood。 But then I heard a radio interview with him， in which he talked about the significant mental and physical health problems he’d suffered from since 2017 and I started to revise my view of him。 After being a star bike racer for many years he’d experienced a barren spell and it seemed unlikely that he’d manage to attain the same level of strength and form again。 But then I saw that he’d been included in the Quick-Step team for the 2021 Tour de France， an achievement in itself。This book tells the story of that race and of Mark’s quest to match or even surpass the record of 34 stage wins achieved by Belgian legend Eddie Merckx。 It transpires that he’d been dropped by his former team and was considering giving up professional cycling altogether but was eventually offered a skimpy deal to ride for his Quick-Step， a team he’d raced with before。 At this point he had no real prospect of being selected for the team to ride Le Tour。 He hadn’t won a race of any sort for years and most people – insiders and fans of the sport – believed that his best years were well behind him。I listened to the audio version， read by Cavendish， and it was clear that the man himself had a very different view of his own worth – he knew he could win again。 After a number of races at what he considered to be at ‘C Team’ level， he secured a late call up to race the the Tour of Belgium， this due to an injury sustained by the team’s lead sprinter。 After sprinting to a win in stage 5 of the race he got lucky again， this once again due to his teammate’s ongoing injury problem - he’d secured a place in the team for the biggest race of them all。 Cavendish then describes his experience in the race， walking us through each stage， and it really does feel like he’s giving an honest appraisal of the good， the bad and the ugly of what it’s like to participate in a Grand Tour event。 For cycling fans much of the high level stuff will be well known but Mark gets right into the nitty gritty， it’s a compulsive account of a man， and a team， battling possibly the toughest sporting event of them all。 Mixed in with the cycling we get glimpses of his relationship with his family， his teammates and others in the cycling ‘family’ and also something of his interest outside of cycling。 I loved every minute of it。 。。。more
Joe Denton
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A good read
mark feenan
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Brilliant。 The Greatest Sprinter Ever。 What a comeback。 Cav is now amongst cycling Royalty。
Dzsosszika
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I liked the back story from his 2021 season， which added another layer to the view provided by race commentary。 I thought there might be a bit more about the years of struggle from 2017-2020。 This book is really focused on the Tour and the preceding races in 2021。 It’s very focused and assume written quickly for Christmas 2021。 I expect he’ll write another book upon retirement。 Worth a read if you’re into racing and a Cav fan。
Jamie Liversidge
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The GOAT
James Flack
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Ultimately an opportunity to exploit the success of the Tour from last year， but if you like your cycling then this is an enjoyable read - you can't escape Mark's character and determination to succeed and that he can be quite blunt about it。。。 a great book and a great guy and I hope he gets another opportunity this year too。 Ultimately an opportunity to exploit the success of the Tour from last year， but if you like your cycling then this is an enjoyable read - you can't escape Mark's character and determination to succeed and that he can be quite blunt about it。。。 a great book and a great guy and I hope he gets another opportunity this year too。 。。。more
Keegan Longueira
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I loved the first half of the book speaking about the prep for the Tour。 Loved the insights into racing， training， food and just how life goes for these Pro's。 I am bias in wanting to read more of these types of things I suppose。 And hence my rating here。 When the actual tour started， having watched it， I didnt find it to interesting。 It almost became a "This happened， then this happened，" approach to the writing。 The Groupetto adventures up the climbs for me was the most interesting from there I loved the first half of the book speaking about the prep for the Tour。 Loved the insights into racing， training， food and just how life goes for these Pro's。 I am bias in wanting to read more of these types of things I suppose。 And hence my rating here。 When the actual tour started， having watched it， I didnt find it to interesting。 It almost became a "This happened， then this happened，" approach to the writing。 The Groupetto adventures up the climbs for me was the most interesting from there on。 Great Athlete， incredible human being， didnt enjoy the book to much。 Felt a bit rushed towards halfway。 。。。more
Ian
，
I've always been an admirer of Mark Cavendish and I was delighted to see his success at the 2021 Tour de France in which he won four stages and the Green Jersey。 Everyone loves a come-back in sport and if it's a national hero too， then that's an added bonus。 I think this was a hastily-written book to capitalise on his successes in time for the Christmas market。 Some of the writing is a bit clunky and it would benefit from some sharper editing， but that's fine it doesn't really detract from the b I've always been an admirer of Mark Cavendish and I was delighted to see his success at the 2021 Tour de France in which he won four stages and the Green Jersey。 Everyone loves a come-back in sport and if it's a national hero too， then that's an added bonus。 I think this was a hastily-written book to capitalise on his successes in time for the Christmas market。 Some of the writing is a bit clunky and it would benefit from some sharper editing， but that's fine it doesn't really detract from the book。 I learned a few interesting things I didn't know: some cycle teams drink wine and beer on the evenings after stages。 I'm pretty sure that Ineos and Sky don't， but it seems that Deceuninck-Quick-step， Cav’s team， do （I assume in moderation – and maybe because they’re from Belgium where beer is almost a religion！）。 I also learned that Cav can speak Italian and surprisingly he's a dab hand with a needle-and-thread as his mother owned a drapery shop。 I don't think anyone would argue that the TdF is one of the hardest sporting events in the world and Cav graphically describes how hard it is for him to cycle over 100 mountainous miles before sprinting flat-out for the finish in the race， or just hanging onto the back of the peloton in order to finish within the cut-off time to avoid elimination from the race on the non-sprinting high mountainous stages。 He’s extremely kind and gracious in his praise for the support his team gave him during the race。A great book for people who are interested in extreme sports and cycling and the human side of these events。 。。。more
Samuel Cowan
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I received this book as a Christmas present and looked forward to reading it。 I like cycling and was hoping to get into cycling last year。I hope I can build my confidence up to try again。I was interested in reading about the different stages of the Tour De France and especially with Mark’s experience of past tours。While I did enjoy the story， I felt that it was poised by the use of offence language or swear language in the book。I was intrigued to read the book as if mark was talking to you perso I received this book as a Christmas present and looked forward to reading it。 I like cycling and was hoping to get into cycling last year。I hope I can build my confidence up to try again。I was interested in reading about the different stages of the Tour De France and especially with Mark’s experience of past tours。While I did enjoy the story， I felt that it was poised by the use of offence language or swear language in the book。I was intrigued to read the book as if mark was talking to you personally。 As one who doesn’t use swear or vulgar language I felt that it’s use in the book spoilt the book for me。I understand that folks use it on a daily basis， but I would like authors， editor and publishers to remember that there is a portion of their readers who don’t use vulgar or swear language and to help in curtailing the use in future publications。I do wish Mark all the best for his future as he has been a great ambassador for cycling and hope that he can use his experience to encourage more into cycling if not into the sport of Road Cycling。 。。。more
Simon Bainbridge
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Basically him going through the year into a dictaphone with some proofing， but the character comes through and it’s highly enjoyable stuff。
Dave Land
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Obviously Cav is amazing， talented and so on。 And it’s mostly interesting to see inside the peloton from his perspective。 It’s hard to imagine him getting more wins， but he had been written off so many times before it’s now hard not to imagine him winning more。 It’s not especially well written， and he has such a potty-mouth it’s slightly tedious as you start to be able to predict with some degree of accuracy how he’s going to respond to any situation。 Still， talk of the changing nature of the pe Obviously Cav is amazing， talented and so on。 And it’s mostly interesting to see inside the peloton from his perspective。 It’s hard to imagine him getting more wins， but he had been written off so many times before it’s now hard not to imagine him winning more。 It’s not especially well written， and he has such a potty-mouth it’s slightly tedious as you start to be able to predict with some degree of accuracy how he’s going to respond to any situation。 Still， talk of the changing nature of the peloton is interesting， and it would be nice to think other cyclists would take heed of what he says。 。。。more
Leigh Simmonds
，
I love Cav， so this is a consciously biased review！ I love his passion， his honesty， his heart on his sleeve approach to life， His love for bike racing jumps off the pages， as does his love and respect for the Tour。 There are some great insights into the race and life as a bike racer… it’s also a really easy read， perfect for a holiday！
Ruth Mackay
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Last day of leave， not feeling 100%， so what’s better than sitting and reading one of my new books。 I’m a huge cycling fan and have been really missing watching the races over the winter off season。 Cav’s book， reliving this years Tour de France was the perfect antidote to those blues。
Toby
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Head and shoulders above the other British riders of his generation， as compelling a character as Cipollini or Hinault。。。 and five years without a win， eking out his career with a self-belief shared by fewer and fewer others。 Here Mark tells the story of his astonishing comeback。 It lhas a special place in the hearts of so many over-35 year old Englishmen with a hankering for their youth。 Great to hear Mark's voice: the snide stories， like putting Peter Sagan down for whining （less putting the b Head and shoulders above the other British riders of his generation， as compelling a character as Cipollini or Hinault。。。 and five years without a win， eking out his career with a self-belief shared by fewer and fewer others。 Here Mark tells the story of his astonishing comeback。 It lhas a special place in the hearts of so many over-35 year old Englishmen with a hankering for their youth。 Great to hear Mark's voice: the snide stories， like putting Peter Sagan down for whining （less putting the boot in from Mark than in his hot-headed youth though）; the paeans of praise to his team-mates， like Loulou riding for him in the world champs jersey; the assisted agony through the Alps; the forensic breakdown of the sprints he won， and how he got boxed in unable to sprint on the Champs Elysee。Two of the great missed opportunities of of Cav’s career， this one and in the desert world championships， came when he deliberately dropped his lead out man’s wheel， Mikael Morkov’s and Adam Blythe’s， and ended up for different reasons following the wrong man。 The others I guess when over-enthusiasm made him crash。 What is astonishing about Cav though is that such infidelities have been so rare， his killer instincts so powerful。 His win rate from contested sprints is magnificent。 Yes， good to hear Mark's voice which sounds clearly through the more polished prose that Daniel Friebe and Peter Cossins have rendered it into。 。。。more
Loz
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Loved reading Mark’s account of his 2021 comeback。 Had no idea what obstacles he faced to actually get back to the Tour and it almost didn’t happen！ Put off by a lot of “F word” but I guess that’s his personality and style。 Still think it could’ve had less swearing。 On one page I think I counted 6 “f bombs”。 Enough is enough！
Adam Bowie
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