Mark Cavendish was 'almost nailed on' to win a stage – Tributes flood in after 'gutting' Tour de France crash

ByBen Snowball

Published 08/07/2023 at 17:29 GMT

Barring a U-turn on retirement, Mark Cavendish will finish his career on 34 Tour de France stage victories after crashing out on Saturday. Cavendish was just one victory away from the outright record of stage wins, but will have to content himself with sharing the honour with Belgian great Eddy Merckx. On The Breakaway, Robbie McEwen, Dan Lloyd, Adam Blythe and Orla Chennaoui paid tribute to him.

Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) was "almost nailed on" to win a stage on his swansong appearance at the Tour de France, says Adam Blythe, before a crash derailed his hopes of claiming the outright record for stage victories.

Cavendish fell victim to a concertina effect in the peloton with 61km remaining on Stage 8 as he hit the tarmac, with it soon evident that his race was over as medical staff helped him into an ambulance.

His exit was made extra painful given what happened 24 hours earlier, when a mechanical likely denied him a record 35th win at the Tour.

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Tributes quickly began tumbling in for the 38-year-old, who is set to retire at the end of the season, as Blythe saluted his friend and former team-mate on The Breakaway.

"I'm just gutted, really gutted for him," said Blythe.

He continued: "He's a bugger to be with, I'll tell you that for free! He's absolutely brilliant and he's one of the few people in the world that can take that much responsibility and deliver – and keep on delivering. It's really difficult for Mark, he'll be absolutely gutted.

"He had his clear shot yesterday and missed out because of mechanicals. But for me, the way he was going, it was almost nailed on that he was going to win. I think he knew that and I think that will hurt him more.

"For Mark to come off on a stupid crash, he'll be torn up about it for sure. It's just so sad. It's the sport, it's brutal."

'We have seen history' - McEwen on Cavendish legacy

'Absolutely heartbreaking' – McEwen salutes Cavendish after Tour farewell ends in crash

Robbie McEwen insisted "we have seen history" despite Cavendish's premature exit on cycling's biggest stage.

"It's not the way we want to see a champion go out," said 12-time Tour stage winner McEwen.

"We want to see Mark go out on his own terms, whether it was with a stage win in this race or not, reaching the Champs-Elysees, being able to ride around there one last time would have been the right way to finish.

"People say 'oh, it's a pity we don't get to see history'. We have seen history. 34 stage wins in the Tour, he holds the record along with Eddy Merckx.

"OK, that won't be broken, he won't have it on his own, but he has created so much history throughout his career.

"It is really sad to see someone end their Tour in the back of ambulance and there's no words you can say to Mark to make him feel any better."

He added: "The highs are so high and so sweet because you know the lows. But to get to your last Tour de France, your last chance on the biggest stage, and have it go wrong, is absolutely heartbreaking."

Cavendish's popularity in the peloton and beyond has been evident throughout the Tour.

Just moments after beating him in Friday's sprint on Stage 7, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin–Deceuninck) claimed he would have "loved" to see Cavendish win the sprint, while Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) dropped a devastated F-bomb when told of his compatriot's exit during a Eurosport interview.

Mark Renshaw, Cavendish's former leadout man turned Astana Qazaqstan analyst, was also gutted at his departure.

"I won't lie, I cried. Everyone in the team is hurting because there's a hell of a lot of work gone in," Renshaw said at the finish to Stage 8.

"[General manager] Alexander Vinokourov took a chance on him and who would have thought in January that he would be here, running second in the Tour de France and then the next day crashing."

Meanwhile, Stage 8 winner Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) said it is "so sad a legend finishes a Tour like this" as he saluted Cavendish in his post-race interview.

'It's so sad a legend finishes a Tour like this' – Pedersen pays tribute to Cavendish

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