Tour de Force: My history-making Tour de France

Mark Cavendish thought he was done. After years of illness, crashes, setbacks and a brutal battle with depression, the former fastest man on a bike had been written off by almost everyone — including himself. At 36, with no Grand Tour stage wins since 2016, it looked like his legendary career would quietly fade out.

Then came the 2021 Tour de France.

Drafted into Deceuninck–Quick-Step at the very last minute after Sam Bennett’s injury, Cavendish seized the chance nobody expected him to get. What followed was one of the greatest comebacks in cycling history. He stormed to four stage wins, pulled on the green jersey again for the first time since 2011, and matched Eddy Merckx’s all‑time record of 34 Tour de France stage victories — a milestone many believed he’d never reach.

This book is Cav’s own raw, honest, from‑the‑saddle account of that miracle Tour: the pressure, the doubt, the grit, the team behind him, and the sheer willpower that pushed him back to the top. It’s the story of a champion who refused to stay down.