Wilier Filante SLR with special paint job: Mark Cavendish's record-breaking road bike

Before the first stage of the 2024 Tour de France, there were whispers in the paddock as to whether Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team) might have to bury his dream of becoming the sole winner of the Tour de France early on. The fears initially seemed to be confirmed: The sprinter got into serious trouble on the first climb of the first stage and even threw up a little later. But the Cavendish story had a happy ending. The 39-year-old arrived in Rimini within the time limit and won his 35th stage of the Tour de France five days later with a phenomenal sprint - a record!

>> All racing bikes of the 22 Tour de France teams

>> This is the route of the Tour de France 2024 - all stages at a glance

Special paint job for Wilier Filante SLR by Mark Cavendish

Cavendish will be riding a special Wilier Filante SLR at the 2024 Tour de France. As in the previous year, the Italian bike manufacturer is providing the figurehead of the Astana Qazaqstan team with a model in an eye-catching special livery.

The brightly coloured front in particular is a real eye-catcher. The colours green and yellow are reminiscent of the jerseys worn by the best sprinter and overall leader in the Tour. According to Wilier, blue, red and black are to be seen as a complement and are intended to symbolise Cavendish's rainbow jersey after the 2011 World Cycling Championships in Copenhagen.

The Italians have announced that the Filante in its striking paintwork will also be available for hobby drivers. However, interested parties will have to be patient: Wilier has set the end of December as the start of sales.

TOUR at the Tour de France: Exclusive live blog