Cavendish's dream of breaking a record at the Tour de France is over

France Having broken his collarbone and having to retire early in stage 8, Mark Cavendish could not conquer the record of 35 Tour de France stage wins in his last participation in the most prestigious race on the planet.

Cavendish in pain from injury after accident on stage 8 of Tour de France 2023. Photo: AFP — Cavendish in pain from injury after accident on stage 8 of Tour de France 2023. Photo: *AFP*

Cavendish's Tour de France career ended abruptly, on a rural stretch of road some 60km from the finish of stage 8 in Limoges.

According to ESPN , the 38-year-old British cyclist crashed while at the back of the peloton at a speed of about 45 km/h. The accident caused Cavendish to fall hard to the ground, holding his right shoulder.

The Astana-Qazaqstan team later announced that Cavendish was taken straight to a hospital in Perigueux, France, for surgery, thereby early saying goodbye to the 2023 Tour de France.

Cavendish's teammate Gianni Moscon said the veteran had to brake hard because of a collision ahead. "Someone swerved and Cavendish hit the back wheel of the guy in front and fell," Moscon said.

Mark Cavendish crashes on stage 8 of Tour de France 2023 — Cavendish crashed on stage 8 of the 2023 Tour de France.

Cavendish equaled Eddy Merckx's record for most Tour de France stage wins with 34 in 2021. He was not selected for last year's race. Last month, the 38-year-old confirmed that 2023 would be his last Tour de France and wanted to claim the stage wins record. He came close to reaching the new milestone when he finished second on the 170km stage 7 from Mont-de-Marsan to Bordeaux, France, but was ruled out due to a serious injury.

“It was terrible,” Moscon continued. “I stayed to see what was going on, and Cavendish was really upset. There wasn’t much to say, really. I tried to see if I could get Cavendish back in the race, but he couldn’t continue.”

Cavendish, born in 1985, is one of the greatest sprinters of all time. In 2021, Tour de France director Christian Pruhomme praised Cavendish as the greatest sprinter in the history of the Tour de France and in cycling. Cavendish won three gold medals for Great Britain at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in 2005, 2008, 2016 and won silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Yesterday's 2023 Tour de France Stage 8 featured a 201km medium climb from Libourne to Limoges, France. With Cavendish dropping out early, former world champion Mads Pedersen exploded in the sprint, beating off the clutches of Jasper Philipsen - who had won all three previous stages at the 2023 Tour - to take the lead in 4 hours, 12 minutes and 26 seconds.

Mads Pedersen wins stage 8 of Tour de France 2023 — Mads Pedersen won stage 8 of the 2023 Tour de France.

After his victory, the Danish cyclist sent his gratitude to Cavendish. "It's sad to see a legend end the Tour de France like this," Pedersen said. "I feel honored to have raced with Cavendish. I hope to be able to compete with him for as long as he did."

Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard was in the leading group, finishing with a barely noticeable time difference, to keep the Yellow Jersey with a total time of 34 hours 9 minutes 38 seconds, 25 seconds behind Tadej Pogacar - the Slovenian racer who won the 2020 and 2021 Tour de France - and Jai Hindley - the Australian racer who won stage 5 - 94 seconds.

Jasper Philipsen, the Belgian who won stages 3 and 4 of the 2023 Tour de France, continues to hold the Green jersey for the sprinter with 258 points, while Neilson Powless of the EF Education–EasyPost team remains in the Red jersey for the climber with 36 points.

Today, the 2023 Tour de France will continue racing on stage 9 with a 182.5km climb from Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat to Puy de Dôme, France.

Hong Duy

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