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 bicycle race on the planet.
Cavendish in pain from injury after accident in stage 8 of Tour de France 2023. Photo: AFP
Cavendish's Tour de France career ended abruptly, on a rural road about 60km from the stage 8 finish in Limoges.
According to ESPN , the 38-year-old British cyclist crashed 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 person in front and fell," Moscon said.
Cavendish crashed on stage 8 of the 2023 Tour de France.
Cavendish tied 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 record for stage wins. He came close to achieving the new milestone by finishing second in 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 best sprinters of all time. In 2021, Tour de France director Christian Pruhomme praised Cavendish as the best sprinter in the history of the Tour de France as well as 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 stage 8 of the 2023 Tour de France featured a medium climb of 201km from Libourne to Limoges, France. With Cavendish dropping out early, former world champion Mads Pedersen exploded in the sprint, overtaking the clutches of Jasper Philipsen - who had won all three previous stages at the 2023 Tour de France - to finish first in 4 hours, 12 minutes, 26 seconds.
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 I can 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 and 38 seconds, 25 seconds behind Tadej Pogacar - the Slovenian rider who won the Tour de France 2020 and 2021 - and Jai Hindley - the Australian rider who won stage 5 - 94 seconds.
Belgian Jasper Philipsen, winner of stages 3 and 4 of the 2023 Tour de France, continues to hold the Green jersey for sprinter with 258 points, while EF Education–EasyPost cyclist Neilson Powless remains in the Red jersey for climber with 36 points.
The 2023 Tour de France continues its ninth stage today with a 182.5km climb from Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat to Puy de Dôme, France.
Hong Duy
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