For Mark Cavendish the Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium started with a walk of honour through the raised wheels of his fellow professional cyclists and then finished amid a huge roar from the crowd. The winner of a record 35 stages of the French Grand Tour got to throw his hands in the air to celebrate victory one last time on Sunday.
Cavendish, who confirmed on the eve of the event that the showcase that brings a taste of the Tour de France to Southeast Asia would be his last time pinning on a number as a professional cyclist, got his fairytale ending and so did the spectators that came out to watch.
The breaks had flown from the start of the criterium delivering an exhibition of top talent, but it all came down to that much anticipated sprint battle in the heat and humidity of Singapore. As celebrations erupted for the retiring Astana Qazaqstan rider when he crossed the line, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Deceuninck), who had launched early, took second place while Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Soudal) was third.
“I’m quite emotional actually,” said Cavendish on the broadcast coverage. “I realised in the last 5 laps that it was the last 15km of my career and when I passed the flamme rouge for the last time in my career I felt that but I was so on the limit – the heat here is not nice for me you know,” he added, eliciting a laugh from the crowd waiting for him to appear on the podium.
He was celebrating a final race, a final win far from home but in front of audience that relished the chance to provide a fitting farewell and at an event that was helping to spread the enthusiasm for a race that had been so pivotal in his career among a group of riders including many who will likely shape the future of it.
“What an incredible day to share my last race with those riders,” Cavendish told reporters after stepping down from his final podium as a professional racer after a career where he visited it so many times.
The event, which ended with the dream scenario, was run on a 2.3km course, taking off from the Connaught Drive start/finish line alongside Esplanade Park, moving up toward Empress Place and then turning left over the smaller of two crossing points of the Singapore River. It was then another sharp bend onto Esplanade Drive, where the peloton again crossed the river and headed up the road, which usually carries around ten lanes of traffic.
Two tight hairpins took the riders up and back that wide road, creating three lanes of racing on the one stretch and then moved past the spiky domed facade of Theaters on the Bay – nicknamed the Durian – onto Stamford Road. After that it was back to the finishing straight, where after 25 laps of racing and 57.5km the final sprint of the criterium unfolded.
However, before that unfolded, there was a one lap team time trial. A thumbs up from Mark Cavendish and a loud rumble heard through Esplanade Park accompanied the departure of his Astana Qazaqstan team as it set out in the race against the clock. Terengganu Cycling Team came out on top in the starting effort, followed by Nusantara and Thailand Continental Cycling Team.