The Briton, who had come very close to a historic 35th victory on Friday, left the route of the Tour due to a fall on Saturday.
With one chain break. This is what the fate of Mark Cavendish played out in the Tour de France. On Saturday, the Isle of Man missile, in the lead at 200 meters, suffered an untimely mechanical failure that was enough for Jasper Philipsen to jump it over the line. A simple stroke of the sword in the water one might think.
Because, despite his frustration, the “Cav ‘” did not admit defeat and his second place foreshadowed that he could put the ball in the bottom for his last participation, overtaking King Eddy Merckx (34 stage victories also) of a unit. Nothing will happen. The Union Jack pocket missile, which announced its retirement at the end of the year at the age of 38, left the road of the Tour on fall, Saturday July 8. A harmless fall at the back of the peloton, which sent him flying and tasting the tarmac 62 kilometers from the finish in Limoges.
His teammates may well have been busy picking him up, Cavendish immediately held his shoulder before boarding the ambulance to the Périgueux hospital, his eyes red with pain but probably also the sadness of such an output. The Briton broke his collarbone established a first medical report, a few hours after his fall. “If someone is coming in front of you and you’re not fully concentrated, you can fall. This kind of thing happens often. It’s very sad that it happens to Mark because on this kind of stage he doesn’t nothing ever happens”, lamented his teammate David de la Cruz on arrival.
Pogacar’s tribute
We do not yet know if this premature exit from the road will be able to make him want a last dance in 2024, but Mark Cavendish has for the moment said goodbye to his rich history with the Tour, i.e. 14 participations since his first in July 2007 , a date when Tadej Pogacar was not yet 10 years old. “When I heard during the race that Mark had fallen, I was really very sad. Everyone wanted him to win a stage. He was one of my childhood idols. I still remember when I I was watching television sprinting with his HTC jersey on the Champs-Elysées. I wanted to have the same style, the same legs”remembered the Slovenian on arrival.
Tied with Merckx since the 2021 edition, where he had collected his last four on the Tour to everyone’s surprise, the “Cav'” had come this year to snatch this last unit so close and yet so hard to obtain at an age where all sprinters have normally declined for a long time “Since the start of the Tour, we knew he could reach this record of 35 victories. After yesterday’s place, we were even more confident for the future stages”adds De La Cruz. “It’s a tragic day for us and the race,” summarized his other teammate Gianni Moscon.
In total, Mark Cavendish will therefore remain stuck on the Tour at 34 bouquets including six quadruplets, granting him the unofficial title of best sprinter in history, since he added 17 on the Tour of Italy and three on the Tour d Spain, for a career total of 162 wins. Many of these were the result of close collaboration with his (almost) always pilot fish, Mark Renshaw. “I didn’t think it would be possible to finish second on Saturday and for him to have that today. It’s tough because we knew he had the legs. I imagine he’s very disappointed. I not gonna lie, i cried”said the one who had joined the Kazakh team for the Tour as a sprint coach.
In this maze of victories, the “Manx Missile” also experienced many setbacks. During the 1st stage of the 2014 Tour in Yorkshire, he had to give up after falling in front of his mother’s house. Temperamental, insatiable for victories even if it means risking his life, as when he was beaten by Peter Sagan in the 2017 Tour de France, Cavendish gave everything to mark his teams and the history of the Tour. “Mark is one of the most charismatic runners I have known, and I have met many of them”says De La Cruz. “It was a pleasure to run with Mark. We’ve always had a great relationship in the peloton. It’s so sad that a legend like him ends the Tour like that.” concludes the winner of the day, Mads Pedersen.