Sir Mark Cavendish will target a record-breaking 35th stage win at the Tour de France when the race reaches Torino this Monday. 

As expected, earlier this week the Manx Missile was confirmed in Astana Qazakstan’s team for the Grand Tour in what will be the last time he competes at the pinnacle of cycling. 

Having crashed out of last year’s race with a broken collarbone, Cav opted to delay his retirement by 12 months in order to set a new outright record number of stage wins – he currently lies level on 34 victories alongside the legendary Eddy Merckx.  

This year the grand depart takes place in Italy, with Saturday’s opening stage travelling from Florence to Rimini before Sunday sees the peloton head northwest from Cesenatico to Bologna, both mountainous or undulating stages unsuitable for sprinters.  

But the third stage covers a mostly flat route over 230.8 kilometres from Plaisance to Turin which features only three small climbs and will most likely end in a bunch sprint which Cav will be targeting to rack up a record-breaking win. 

After that, Tuesday’s stage sees the Tour head over the border into France in what will be a tough day featuring the infamous Col du Galibier mountain. 

But both the Wednesday and Thursday stages offer up further opportunities for Cav and his fellow sprinters to come to the fore, giving the Manx Missile another chance to make yet more history as he brings the curtain down on his illustrious career.