Châteauroux, a French town and capital of Indre where the ninth stage of the 2025 Tour de France will conclude on Sunday, July 13th, is changing its name. No, this is not a joke, but an initiative that the mayor and municipal administration of this town in the heart of France have devised to pay homage to Mark Cavendish, who last year ended his long professional career by achieving the record of 35 stage victories in the Grande Boucle.

Seventeen road signs with the clearly visible inscription "Cavendish City" have been installed in recent days at the city's entry points. An unusual choice that Gil Avérous, 51-year-old former sports minister and current mayor of Châteauroux, explained as follows: "Mark has won here three times, obviously in sprint finishes. He is a great sportsman, and we are very pleased to celebrate him".

The administrators clarified that the welcome signs for the City of Cavendish will not be permanent, but they intend to name a section of Avenue de La Châtre after the 40-year-old sprinter from the Isle of Man, where Mark achieved his victories in the 2008 (beating Freire and Zabel, ed.), 2011 (ahead of Petacchi and Greipel, ed.), and 2021 (leaving Philipsen and Bouhanni behind, ed.) seasons.

"I've spoken with him, and he's very enthusiastic. We will definitely do it, perhaps by the end of the year, depending on his availability," Mayor Avérous told colleagues at francebleu.fr

Cover photo from Mayor Avérous's Facebook page