MARK Cavendish has crashed out of what is set to be his final Tour de France before retirement.

The Manxman, 38, was involved in an innocuous-looking crash 60km from the finish of the race’s eighth stage — a 200.7km run from Libourne and Limoges.

Widely regarded as cycling’s greatest sprinter of all time, Cavendish came into this year’s Tour level on 34 stage wins with Belgian legend Eddy Merckx.

Jasper Philipsen denied him a record 35th stage win during Friday’s stage.

Cavendish hit the deck after touching wheels with Pello Bilbao, well before Mads Pedersen held off Philipsen in the uphill finish to win Saturday’s transitional stage.

He suffered a suspected broken collarbone and went into an ambulance, with his team Astana Qazaqstan confirming he was forced to abandon the race.

Mark Renshaw, who was Cavendish’s lead-out man from 2009-2011 and in 2016, and joined Astana as a sprint adviser prior to the Tour added: “Second yesterday, and today, to have this happen to Mark… it’s hard because we know his shape’s here, we know he has the legs.

“I won’t lie, I cried. Everyone in the team is hurting.”

Cavendish was the fifth rider to abandon this year’s Tour, after Enric Mas, Richard Carapaz, Jacopo Guarnieri and Luis Leon Sanchez.

Steff Cras, who was involved in a late pile-up with Simon Yates and Mikel Landa, then became the sixth, with all those withdrawals due to crashes.

It marks the seventh time from 14 appearances that Cavendish, who made his Tour debut in 2007, has not finished the race.

After a two-year absence, and having not won a Tour stage since 2016, he returned in 2021 to win four and move level with five-time Tour winner Merckx.

‘Everybody here wanted him to win one stage’ – reaction from the peloton

Two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar: “When I heard in the race he [Cavendish] had crashed it was a sad moment because he was in good shape. I think everybody here wanted him to win one stage and yesterday he was super close. It’s a bad moment.

“He was one of my favourites when we were kids. Him sprinting on the Champs-Elysees, we just wanted to have his style and his legs. They were good moments.”
Yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard: “I spoke with him a few times in my first Tour de France and again this year.

“He is a super nice guy and I would have loved to have seen him take the 35th stage win. I still remember when I was a kid and I was watching him and all his celebrations. He was my big idol. It is really a shame for him and I hope he is OK.”

Stage eight winner Mads Pedersen: “For me it was a pleasure to be able to ride with Mark Cavendish. I always had a good relationship with him in the peloton. It’s so sad for a legend to finish the Tour like this.

“He still owes me a jersey, for a jersey swap. Hopefully I can do some of the last races he does.”(BBC Sport)