Mark Cavendish crashes out of Tour de France, loses chance to break stage record

Mark Cavendish started this year’s Tour de France dreaming of becoming its prolific stage winner.

He ended it mid-way through stage eight in an ambulance, his race and Tour de France career over.

The 38-year-old rider from the Isle of Man was already the greatest sprinter in Tour de France history.

No other rider has come close to his 34 wins in bunch-sprints — the bear-pit of professional cycling where none but the bravest of riders can afford to mix it in close confines at speeds in excess of 70 kilometres per hour. 

Long-retired Frenchmen André Darrigade and André Leducq are closest to matching him with 22 each.

As well as winning the green points jersey twice, Cavendish has won the iconic final stage on the Champs-Élysées a record four times — no other rider has won that most famous of stages more than twice.

His four wins in a row in the Tour’s final stage was highlighted by winning in the world champions rainbow jersey, having been led out for the win by yellow jersey winner and long-time friend Bradley Wiggins in 2012.  

Cavendish, meanwhile, has won 34 stage wins between 2008 and 2021, equalling the record of cycling’s greatest ever rider, Eddy Merckx.

He needed just one more win to stand alone.

That win almost came on stage seven, when a mechanical issue meant he could not fully commit to his sprint when bursting into the finish at Marseille.

Instead, Jasper Philipsen breezed past the British star to claim a third-straight sprint win.

“I would have loved to see him win, like everybody,” Philipsen said after that stage seven win.

“For sure he will keep trying.”

Unfortunately for Cavendish, his chance to break the record will never come.

“It’s very unfortunate that his story in the Tour de France finished up like this,” Philipsen said after the eighth stage.

“I am sorry for him … He sure inspired me.

The end, when it came, was innocuous.

A touch of wheels towards the middle of the peloton creating a ripple effect that saw Cavendish hit the deck, immediately grabbing at his helmet and shoulder.

He knew his Tour career was over, you only needed to look at the devastation on his face.

Cavendish announced that he will retire at the end of this season, meaning this 14th and final Tour de France was his last chance to break a record that has stood since 1975.

Danish rider Mads Pedersen won a furious uphill sprint to claim the eighth stage, edging Philipsen and Wout van Aert.

“For me it was a pleasure to be able to race with Mark,” Pedersen said at the end of the stage.

Jonas Vingegaard finished in the pack and remains in the yellow jersey ahead of Tadej Pogačar.

“It’s a real shame [Cavendish is out],” Pogačar said.

“I think everyone wants to see him go for one more win. He said that it was his final year, but maybe not?”

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