Mark Cavendish is out of #TDF2023 as he’s Forced to abandon his final Tour de France after crashing on stage eight.
If any of you weren’t screaming at your computer or TV for Cav in the sprint finish during stage seven, we’re not friends. Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan) fell just short of winning his 35th stage—the record for career Tour de France stage wins—when he was out pedaled by Jasper Phillipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). And while it’s easy to chalk a narrow miss up to mechanical error, this seems legit.
It looked to some like the Manx Missile may have run out of steam after being forced to launch his sprint from a long way back, but it turned out to be a mechanical issue at fault.
Cavendish revealed that the chain was slipping between the 11th and 12th gears, robbing him of the ability to keep pushing power through the pedals all the way to the finish line in the final 30 to 40 metres of the 170-kilometre stage to Bordeaux.
“I jumped when I wanted to but unfortunately, I had a problem with my gears when I was sprinting,” Cavendish said.
In the video of the sprint finish, Cavendish can easily be seen standing, and then returning to his saddle—pretty clear evidence that something was off with his gearing. It’s no secret what’s on the line. With every flat stage, Cavendish is obviously giving it his all. To come this close and have a mechanical problem really stings.
Cavendish currently shares the record for career Tour de France stage wins with Eddy Merckx—at 34.
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