SINGAPORE (AFP) — Mark Cavendish sprinted to victory on Sunday in the Tour de France Singapore Criterium with a signature surge to the line in his final race.

“I really wanted that so bad,” the 39-year-old cycling great from Britain said after the 166th victory of his glorious career.

“I’m terribly emotional.”

“I realized in the last five laps that this was the last 15 kilometers of my career and I felt that, but I was so much on the limit.”

Coming out of the last bend, Cavendish, who holds the record for most stage wins on the Tour de France, briefly latched onto the wheel of defending champion Jasper Philipsen before pulling away.

Cavendish had time to glance back before raising his arms in triumph one last time, to deafening cheers from the crowd who had gathered for the race.

Philipsen took second place with his Belgian compatriot Arnaud de Lie finishing third.

The criterium, organized by Tour de France, covered 25 laps of a street circuit in hot and humid Singapore.

“I was nervous about crashing, or something like that,” said Cavendish, after the final act in a career spanning 19 years.

“Not that there is anything wrong with that but I really wanted to finish.”

“But I was lucky and I gained the wheel and I went past him.”

“I couldn’t have wished for a better send-off.”

Cavendish ended speculation about his cycling future when he announced his retirement from the sport on Saturday.

He made Tour de France history last July when he won a stage for the 35th time to eclipse Eddy Merckx’s record which had stood since 1975.

Cavendish made his Tour de France debut in 2008 before becoming world road race champion three years later.

He won an omnium silver medal at the 2016 Olympics.

Since turning professional in 2005 he had won 165 races before Sunday, including 17 stages in the Giro d’Italia and three in the Vuelta a España.

He won the points classification in the Tour in 2011 and 2021, in the Giro in 2013 and in the Vuelta in 2010.

The “Manx Missile” is just 5-foot-9 tall but showed a pure sprinter’s ferocious acceleration, courage and aggression and developed a knack for reading how a sprint was unfolding and positioning himself for the final surge.

He intends to stay involved with cycling.

“I love this sport. I’ve always loved it,” he said.

“The Tour de France isn’t just a bike race, it’s the biggest annual sports event in the world.”

“It’s what children dream of. It’s what adults dream of.”