As a road cyclist, Mark Cavendish turned professional in 2005, and achieved eleven wins in his first professional season. Cavendish has won 34 Tour de France stages, tying him for first on the all-time list with Eddy Merckx, contributing to a third-highest total of fifty-three Grand Tour stage victories. He won the Men's road race at the 2011 road world championships, becoming the second male British rider to do so after Tom Simpson. Cavendish has also won the points classification in all three of the grand tours: the 2010 Vuelta a España, the 2011, and 2021 Tours de France and the 2013 Giro d'Italia. In 2012, he became the first person to win the final Champs-Élysées stage in the Tour de France in four consecutive years.
Given this paragraph about cycling, who holds the record for the most Tour de France stage victories?
Mark Cavendish is tied with Eddie Merckx for the most Tour de France stage victories with 34.