Mark Cavendish exclusive: Giro d'Italia stage win impossible without help from 'legend' Geraint Thomas

Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) insists he would not have claimed a fairytale win at the 2023 Giro d’Italia without help from “legend” Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers). Speaking exclusively to Eurosport for new documentary Mark Cavendish: All In ahead of his tilt for a record 35th stage win at the Tour de France, Cavendish relived his incredible victory on the final stage in May. Ad Cavendish was launched into the sprint showdown by friend and former team-mate Thomas, who drove the pace on the front during a frantic finale in Rome just 24 hours after his own dream of winning the overall race unravelled.

Tour de FranceMcEwen’s sprinter rankings as Cavendish given 1% chance of stage win5 HOURS AGO “It was special. Rome is special. Anyone who has ever been to Rome, it blows you away.

So the Giro finishing in Rome, in front of the Colosseum, the romanticism… It is nice,” Cavendish told Eurosport’s Orla Chennaoui. “And then you had what G [Thomas] did. I get quite emotional.

“It wouldn’t have happened without G. It just wouldn’t have happened. We wouldn’t have been able to do what we wanted to do without G there.” Thomas' decision to front an unlikely sprint train was made more remarkable given he had just lost the leader's maglia rosa to Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) on the penultimate stage.