Having suffered a broken collarbone and being forced to withdraw early in stage 8, Mark Cavendish was unable to break his record of 35 Tour de France stage wins in his final appearance at the world's most prestigious cycling race.
Cavendish is in pain from an injury sustained in an accident during stage 8 of the 2023 Tour de France. Photo: AFP
Cavendish's career on the Tour de France ended abruptly, on a rural stretch of road about 60 km from the finish line of stage 8 in Limoges.
According to ESPN , the 38-year-old British cyclist crashed while behind the peloton at a speed of approximately 45 km/h. The accident caused Cavendish to fall heavily to the ground, clutching his right shoulder.
The Astana-Qazaqstan team later announced that Cavendish had been taken straight to a hospital in Perigueux, France, for surgery, thus forcing him to withdraw from the 2023 Tour de France.
Gianni Moscon, Cavendish's teammate, said the veteran rider had to brake hard because of a collision ahead. "Someone swerved and Cavendish hit the rear wheel of the rider in front and fell," Moscon said.
Cavendish had an accident on stage 8 of the 2023 Tour de France.
Cavendish equaled the record for most stage wins in the Tour de France with 34, held by legend Eddy Merckx, in the 2021 race. He was not selected to participate last year. Last month, the 38-year-old cyclist confirmed that 2023 would be his last time competing in the Tour de France and aimed to hold the record for most stage wins. He came close to achieving this new milestone when he finished second in stage 7, a 170km race from Mont-de-Marsan to Bordeaux, France, but was cut short due to a serious injury.
"That was terrible," Moscon continued. "I stayed to see how things went, and Cavendish was really distressed. There really isn't much to say. I tried to see if I could help Cavendish get back into the race, but he couldn't continue competing."
Cavendish, born in 1985, is one of the greatest sprinters of all time. In 2021, Tour de France director Christian Pruhomme hailed Cavendish as the best sprinter in Tour de France history and in cycling in general. Cavendish won three gold medals for Great Britain at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in 2005, 2008, and 2016, and a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Yesterday's stage 8 of the 2023 Tour de France featured a medium-distance mountain climb of 201 km from Libourne to Limoges, France. With Cavendish retiring early, former world champion Mads Pedersen exploded in the final sprint, overtaking Jasper Philipsen – who had won all three previous stages of the 2023 Tour de France – to finish first with a time of 4 hours 12 minutes and 26 seconds.
Mads Pedersen won stage 8 of the 2023 Tour de France.
Following his victory, the Danish cyclist paid tribute to Cavendish. "It's sad that a legend ended the Tour de France like this," Pedersen expressed. "I feel honored to have competed alongside Cavendish. I hope I can compete as consistently as he did."
Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard was among the leading group, finishing with almost negligible time differences to retain the Yellow Jersey with a total time of 34 hours 9 minutes 38 seconds, 25 seconds behind Tadej Pogacar - the Slovenian rider who won the Tour de France in 2020 and 2021 - and Jai Hindley - the Australian rider who won stage 5 - by 94 seconds.
Jasper Philipsen, the Belgian cyclist who won stages 3 and 4 of the 2023 Tour de France, continues to hold the Green Jersey for the sprint king with 258 points, while Neilson Powless of the EF Education–EasyPost team retains the Red Jersey for the king of the mountains with 36 points.
Today, the 2023 Tour de France will continue with stage 9, a 182.5 km mountain climb from Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat to Puy de Dôme, France.
Hong Duy
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