All of Mark Cavendish's color palette

Records are made to be broken.

This is the story of Eddie and Mark, Karim and LeBron, and all those records that exist only to be broken. 38,387 is the total points record that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held in the NBA for over 40 years. It was a record that not even Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time, managed to break.

Yet, records are made to be broken, even when they seem simply unattainable. Just like the 35 victories in the Tour de France that Mark Cavendish has been chasing for the past two years.

[Tour de France – Stage 8, July 2023]

There's a movement in the peloton, an imperceptible thing that only professional riders can sense. They feel it moments before it occurs.

There are 60 km left in the eighth stage of the 2023 Tour de France. Mark Cavendish is on the ground after a nasty crash. The body language of the rider is straightforward to interpret: hand on the shoulder, grimacing in pain: the collarbone is surely broken.

Mark is forced to withdraw, and the dream of breaking the record for victories at the Tour de France seems to slip away inexorably. It's a hard blow, one that feels like a knockout. Getting up seems impossible.

But inside Cav, there's a fire that has never stopped burning, an incredible mix of competitive perseverance, impressive athletic longevity, and an uncommon obsession with victory.

Project 35, the name Astana has given to the project to help Mark break a record that seemed destined to last forever, is far from shelved.

[Wilier Triestina – Rossano, March 2024]

Mark walks around the Wilier Triestina showroom in Rossano Veneto. He's curious, observing the bikes on display, including his own from the 2023 Tour de France. He asks questions and smiles, clearly in a good mood. Everyone is delighted about his visit, and Cav doesn’t hesitate to sign autographs or take pictures with everyone. There's great enthusiasm in the air.

Then suddenly, Mark stops. He gazes at a graphic hanging in the offices and is inspired by the colors, yellow, green, and all the shades of the rainbow jersey. Poi d’improvviso Mark si ferma.

“Can we try to incorporate these colors into a Filante for the next Tour de France? I'd like the rear stays to remain entirely black.”

The yellow of the Tour, the green of the points jersey, and the colors of the rainbow jersey that evoke the world championship. And then that black, as if he wants to remind himself and others of something. Because cycling is marked by highs, but also by many difficult moments, even for a rider who has amassed over 160 career victories. A rider who has endured falls, but also moments of depression, a period he has openly discussed, without fear of judgment.

Wilier’s designers, brimming with enthusiasm, immediately get to work. Mark is serious; he aims to win a stage at the next Tour de France.

[Tour de France, July 2024, the first stages]

Mark Cavendish is 40 minutes behind the leading group. His stomach ache gives him no peace; he can’t eat. His whole Team is with him, with a single mission: to get him to the finish line. It's not a good start, and recovering energy from such a grueling day isn’t easy. Cav crosses the finish line 39 minutes behind the leaders. The second day is also tormenting, finishing 24 minutes behind.

The third stage is the first big chance to attempt the record, but once again, luck is not on his side. Some riders slip a few kilometers from the finish, leaving Mark stuck and unable to contest the sprint.

The following day is the Galibier, with the sole goal of surviving and making it through.

[Tour de France 2024, Stage 5, the morning before the start]

With the first major mountains of the Tour de France behind him, Mark starts the fifth stage with a single goal: to win.

Who knows if that morning he thought back to the 2020 Gent-Wevelgem? 

At the finish, in tears and with a broken voice, he was approached by a journalist.

"Mark, it was a tough day." Cav hesitates, chokes up, and cries.

“I see it’s an intense moment; how was the race?”

Then, he takes off his glasses and can only say one thing.

“This is the last race of my career.”

“Do you really think this is your last race as a professional?”

“Maybe yes.”

That wasn't his last race.

[Oklahoma, October 2, 2023]

At center court, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hands the ball to LeBron James. The game has been paused for over 10 minutes. One of the longest-standing records in NBA history has just been broken.

 James did it with his classic move, a soft, unstoppable fadeaway. The defender just watched, knowing there was nothing he could do. A story to tell the grandkids on Christmas Day. "Grandpa, tell us about that time when LeBron scored that basket."

Records are made to be broken.

[Tour de France 2024, Stage 5, the last kilometer]

Mark Cavendish is at the front of the peloton. His teammates have protected him throughout the stage.

As he gazes up at the sky, he sees the red triangle of the last kilometer. Along the roadside, people are dressed in yellow to celebrate the Tour’s arrival in the city. He thinks of green, the hope of breaking the record. These are the colors of his Filante SLR.

But at 70 km/h, there isn’t much time to think.

The final meters of a sprint stage are a realm hard to govern, where having the best legs and being the fastest isn't enough. It takes instinct, it takes brains. While it's easy to understand that the right wheels to follow are those of Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen, grasping what’s about to happen in an instant is not simple.

The world champion opens the sprint on the right side of the road; Jasper follows. Cav moves to the left, deciding it’s the best side, passes Philipsen, stays shielded from the wind on an opponent’s wheel for a moment, then opens the gas.

He looks across the road. Moving towards the barriers, with only Jasper on his wheel.

He's just 50 meters from the record. This is his realm.

He bends forward, into his classic and unmistakable sprinting position. Jasper doesn't even try. Cav is too fast.

He raises his arms to the sky, screams of joy. It's 35.

200 meters back, Ballerini, his teammate, stands in the middle of the road. He decided to watch the finish on a big screen set up for fans before crossing the line. He didn’t want to miss the moment.

The blue arrives, one of his tears. Of joy.