Etixx – Quick-Step had another successful season in 2015, with 54 road wins alongside 69 other podium places. Over the next weeks we will look back on the 10 biggest moments for the team in the 2015 season. Our previous moments focused on the likes of Niki Terpstra, Michal Kwiatkowski, Julian Alaphilippe or Tony Martin. Our next best moment is Mark Cavendish sprinting to victory in the first week of the Tour de France.
After a couple of frustrating days in week one of the race, the pieces came into the right place for Mark Cavendish, as he sprinted to perfection in stage seven of the Tour de France and won ahead of green jersey wearer André Greipel, Peter Sagan and John Degenkolb. As the riders came into Fougères at the end of a 190-km long stage, the Etixx – Quick-Step cyclist positioned himself in the slipstream of Greipel on the finish which was on a slight uphill and found the breach that allowed him to take his first Tour de France victory since 2013, one year after crashing out in stage one of the previous edition, in Harrogate.
The “Manx Missile” – visibly touched at the arrival following his 26th stage success in the Grande Boucle, just eight shy of Eddy Merckx’s record – was greeted by his wife Peta and daughter Delilah and celebrated his finest win of the season. For the 30-year-old cyclist, it was the 44th victory in a Grand Tour, one which he dedicated to teammate Tony Martin; the German didn’t start in Livarot, as a result of the collarbone fracture he suffered one day earlier, in Le Havre.
"I almost left it too long, I waited so long. I was perfect on Greipel's wheel, but Guarnieri came backwards after leading out and I had to avoid him. I almost panicked at how close we were to the line. If André had closed off the barrier I may not have won. André sprinted straight. He's a gentleman. I was able to come through and pass him on the right. I had the same power in my legs as I had the other days that ended in sprints. I'm super happy with my victory, the 26th of my career. In the Tour de France even one victory makes a rider's whole career. So, to get one every year except 2014 when I crashed out of Le Tour in the first stage is a big, big thing. I wanted to win for Tony Martin as well. It's really sad he crashed out, especially as he was in the yellow jersey. The way we rallied together shows the spirit of Etixx – Quick-Step. During my three years, I saw in more than one occasion that the team is like a family and I'm really glad to have lived so many beautiful moments with Etixx – Quick-Step."