Mark Cavendish, cycling's best sprinter, is one win away from setting a Tour de France record that may never be broken

Mark Cavendish wasn't even supposed to race the Tour de France this year, but he made cycling history on Friday by equaling the all-time stage-win record after claiming stage 13 and tying Eddy Merckx's record of 34 victories.

Cavendish tied the record after winning a field sprint in Carcassonne, in the south of France. With eight stages remaining, "Cav" now has a shot to set a record of 35 stage wins in the world's greatest race.

Meanwhile, Tadej Pogačar kept his overall lead, and there were no changes in the top 10.

Leading up to this Tour, Cav's Deceuninck-QuickStep team had its sights set not on Cav but on his teammate Sam Bennett to be its sprinter. But before the start, Bennett was pulled from the lineup because of an injured knee, and the team tapped Cav last minute.

Read more: The cycling world is baffled by why the fastest Tour de France rider's chain falls off as he celebrates over finish line

Cav didn't win a single race in the previous two seasons and hadn't even been to the Tour in that time. Before this year, his last win was in February 2018. Many speculated whether the 36-year-old from the Isle of Man would ever return to his best and win another Tour stage, let alone equal or beat Merckx's long-standing record.

But this year Cav's come back and done so in style, with numerous wins and top-10 results. This Tour, he's won a whopping four stages.

You can watch Cav's record-tying win here:

Earlier on Friday, before Cav matched Merckx's record, NBC reported comments made by Merckx — comments that drew criticism from many on Twitter.

Merckx, now age 76, dominated cycling in the 1970s, and he is widely considered to be the greatest cyclist of all time, having won nearly every major race in the sport. But his comments Friday rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way.

Merckx took the opportunity to point out that he won 34 stages not just in sprints, like Cavendish, but also in the mountains, in time trials, and even attacking on descents. He also mentioned he wore the race leader's yellow jersey for 96 days during his career.

To many, it all sounded like sour grapes.

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Merckx did add: "Naturally I'm not trying to play down what he's achieved. Also because he's been through a difficult time and has fallen in love with cycling again. That's a great message for young people in the sport."

Here was Cavendish postrace on Friday:

Cav's next best shot at winning a stage — and setting a record for 35 stage wins — is stage 19. 

But the Tour now heads into the mountains again, and he'll have to finish within the time cut each day to continue in the race, and hope for a shot at making even greater Tour history.

While of course it's possible, it's difficult to see anyone ever matching or beating Cav and Merckx's record. The closest rider racing today is Peter Sagan, but he's far back with 12 stage wins.

PS: Cav again dropped his chain in the sprint. (Context here.)

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