Sprint ace Mark Cavendish ends cycling career in style with Singapore win

SINGAPORE (AP) — Mark Cavendish, one of the best road sprinters in cycling history, retired in style on Sunday by winning the Tour de France Criterium in Singapore.

The 39-year-old from the Isle of Man broke famed Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx’s long-standing record for most career Tour de France stage wins with his 35th victory in July.

Fittingly, for his final race Cavendish wore No. 35 on his race jersey and won in a dash to the line for the 165th victory overall in his career.

“I’m quite emotional actually,” Cavendish said. “I realised in the last 5 laps that it was the last 15 kilometers (9 miles) of my career."

He finished just ahead of Belgian riders Jasper Philipsen and Arnaud De Lie.

“What an incredible day to share my last race with those riders," Cavendish said. "With the future of sprinting, with this next generation of sprinters."

Nicknamed the “Manx Missile,” Cavendish had planned to retire after the 2023 season but changed course and returned with the goal of passing Merckx's Tour stage-win record.

However, Cavendish was a pure sprinter and — being limited in the mountain stages — was never close to winning the Tour.

Cavendish also won stages at the two other Grand Tours — 17 on the Giro d’Italia and three at the Spanish Vuelta — and became a world champion in 2011 in Copenhagen.

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Mark Cavendish of Astana Qazaqstan competes in the Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Danial Hakim)

Mark Cavendish of Astana Qazaqstan poses on the podium during podium ceremony of the Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Danial Hakim)

Mark Cavendish of Astana Qazaqstan, centre, Alpecin Deceunick's Jasper Philipsen, left, and Belgian Champion, Arnaud De Lie, of Lotto Destiny, right pose on the podium during the Prudential Singapore Tour De France Criterium, Sunday, November 10th, 2024. (AP Photo/Danial Hakim)

Mark Cavendish of Astana Qazaqstan, centre, rides to win the Prudential Singapore Tour De France Criterium, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Danial Hakim)

Mark Cavendish of Astana Qazaqstan poses on the podium during the Prudential Singapore Tour De France Criterium, Sunday, November 10th, 2024. (AP Photo/Danial Hakim)

Mark Cavendish of Astana Qazaqstan, centre, celebrates after crossing the finish line during the Prudential Singapore Tour De France Criterium, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Danial Hakim)

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s parliament on Friday appointed right-wing populist politician Janez Jansa as the new prime minister, in a shift for the small European Union country that was previously run by a liberal government.

Lawmakers backed Jansa in a 51-36 vote in the 90-member assembly. The new prime minister will need to come back to Parliament within the next 15 days for another vote to confirm his future Cabinet.

Jansa's appointment concludes a postelection stalemate in Slovenia after a parliamentary ballot two months ago ended practically in a tie. Former liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob's Freedom Movement won by a thin margin but he was unable to muster a parliamentary majority.

Jansa and his populist Slovenian Democratic Party signed a coalition agreement this week with several right-wing groups. The new government also has the backing of a nonestablishment Truth party that first emerged as an anti-vaccination movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new term in office will be the fourth for the veteran Slovenian politician. Jansa, 67, is an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump and was a close ally of former populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election last month.

Jansa in a speech listed the economy, fight against corruption and red tape, and decentralization as key goals of the future government. He has promised to lower taxes for the rich and support private education and healthcare.

Critical of the previous government's alleged “inefficiency," Jansa said the new government will turn Slovenia into “a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted."

Like Orban, Jansa was staunchly anti-immigrant during the huge migration wave to Europe in 2015. Also like Orban, Jansa has faced accusations of clamping down on democratic institutions and press freedoms during a previous term in 2020-2022. This led to protests at the time, and scrutiny from the European Union.

Golob in his speech described Jansa as “the greatest threat to Slovenia’s sovereignty and democracy."

Alleging that Jansa had threatened to arrest him, Golob said Jansa's "idea of democracy is that anyone who dares speak a word against you deserves only the worst.”

Jansa, a supporter of Israel, also has been a stern critic of the Golob government's 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state.

The vote on March 22 was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption. The around 2 million people in the Alpine nation are deeply divided between liberals and conservatives.

Janez Jansa, center, addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa arrives for a session of the Slovenian Parliament in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)