Cavendish falls and gives up

While he will end his career at the end of the season, the “Isle of Man missile”, Mark Cavendish, left his final Grande Boucle in the anonymity of an ambulance. Having once again demonstrated that he had lost none of his speed by being the runner-up to Jasper Philipsen this Thursday in the streets of Bordeaux on the occasion of the 7th stage, the rider of the Astana Qazaqstan team was forced to retire on the road to Limoges.

A few minutes after taking fifth place in the peloton during the intermediate sprint at Tocane-Saint-Apre, Mark Cavendish suffered a fall when he was at the end of the peloton. Very quickly, the Tour de France medical service intervened with the Briton, who was unable to get up immediatelytouching himself to a visibly sore right shoulder with a suspected broken collarbone.

💥@MarkCavendish has crashed, and is going to the ambulance. Heartbreaking for the Manx Missile 😢🚑@MarkCavendish fell and heads for the ambulance. This is terrible for the Manx Missile 😢🚑#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/KZb6hsv7yT

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 8, 2023

Cavendish sees the record fly away

After a few minutes, the Douglas native was able to get back on his feet with the will to get back on his bike. The pain being too great, the rider of the Astana Qazaqstan team went to an ambulance to be examined. However, very quickly, the obvious was the end of the Tour de France for Mark Cavendish. The abandonment of the 38-year-old runner has been made official by the organization of the Grande Boucle.

While he had given himself the last challenge of seeking a 35th stage victory on the Tour de France, he who remained on four successes during the 2021 edition, will not be able to achieve his ambitions. After losing its leader Luis Leon Sanchez at the start of the 5th stage after being down in Nogaro, the Astana Qazaqstan team will have to deal without Mark Cavendish for the last two weeks of racing.