Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) during the 8th stage of the Tour de France, between Libourne and Limoges, July 8, 2023. THOMAS SAMSON / AFP
A thunderclap fell on the Tour de France 2023. Mark Cavendish abandoned, Saturday July 8, during the eighth stage between Libourne (Gironde) and Limoges. Victim of a fall sixty kilometers from the finish, when he was well placed in the heart of the peloton, the Briton immediately touched his right shoulder before getting into the ambulance. Staring blankly, he couldn’t get back on the road.
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At 38, the man from the Isle of Man was competing in the 14th and last Big Loop of his career since he announced at the start of the season that he would hang up the bike at the end of the year. ” I think it’s the perfect time to announce that 2023 will be my last season as a professional cyclist.”he said in May, during the Tour of Italy.
No 35th victory on the Tour
The contrast is cruel with the day before. In Bordeaux, Mark Cavendish believed, for a moment, that he was going to sign his 35th success on the Tour de France. This would have allowed him to overtake Belgian legend Eddy Merckx and become the only record holder for victories in the event. “We will try again”he assured on the banks of the Garonne, at the foot of the coach of the Astana Qazaqstan team.
He won’t get the chance. In the first three sprints of this 110th edition, the “Cav’” could not do anything against the ogre Jaspen Philipsen, winner each time. Sixth at Bayonne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), fifth at Nogaro (Gers) and second, therefore, at Bordeaux (Gironde), he had proved that the form was still there. Especially since he had to manage almost alone as he approached the final wrap, unlike the Alpecin-Deceuninck formation and its perfectly oiled mechanics.
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