“Today it’s over.” The entire Tour de France lives the drama of the mythical cyclist
Tatyana Postnikova July 9, 2023, 20:50 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Mark Cavendish was chasing the record. But he withdrew from the Big Loop due to injury. And there will be no chance to win again.
Imagine how difficult it is to lose your dream, being one step away from it.
Famous cyclist Mark Cavendish doesn’t even need to be introduced. The cycling legend was poised to set the record for most Tour de France stage wins in his final season in the sport. However, in the eighth stage of the Grand Tour, Cavendish had an accident and was seriously injured, for which he had to withdraw from the stage race.
Beware, this is a very sad story…
“2023 will be my last season”
Literally at the end of May, at the Giro d’Italia, Mark Cavendish announced that he would retire from the sport at the end of the season.
“So far I’ve enjoyed riding every kilometer of this race, so I feel like this is the perfect time to say that this is my last Giro d’Italia stage race and 2023 will be my last season as a professional cyclist,” he said in a statement. 38-year-old athlete press conference.
Cavendish prepared for the Tour de France in a special way. The fact is that Mark is the record holder for the number of victories at the stages of the race. That is precisely this record that the Briton shares with the Belgian Eddy Merckx. Both riders have 34 stage race wins.
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Everyone hoped that at his last Tour de France, Cavendish would still be able to establish a unique achievement and become the only leader in the number of victories in the Grand Tour stages. And the British himself was chasing the record. The belief in this increased already on the stage itself, where Mark looked amazing. In the flat seventh stage of “Mont-de-Marsan-Bordeaux”, the Briton did a real “trick” in the last meters of the distance with the Belgian Jesper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). Unfortunately for Cavendish, he finished second, although he didn’t lose a second.
“It’s sad about the whole ‘Tour de France'”
After second place, it looked like Mark’s record would certainly be conquered. However, everything went wrong. In the eighth stage, 61 km from the end, the Briton had an accident. In the peloton, he touched the wheel of another bicycle and fell along with the other cyclists. After Cavendish’s fall, the companions tried to lift him up, but he only remained lying on the ground, clinging to his shoulder. The doctors immediately rushed to Mark, after examining him, they took him to the hospital in an ambulance.
The Astana Qazaqstan team announced that the cyclist was forced to withdraw from the race and the entire Tour de France. It later emerged that Cavendish had broken his clavicle. In addition, due to the fracture, a screw was installed in the joint after the accident in the 2017 Tour de France.
On the morning of July 9, the Briton was released from the hospital. He arrived at the hotel and said goodbye to the team, after which he would be poisoned at home.
“This is an emotional day,” said Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme. Mark was so sad right after the fall. He is the best sprinter in the history of the Tour de France, he wanted to try to win stage 35. Yesterday he was second. Yesterday we thought for two or three seconds that he would achieve his goal, but today it’s over. He is sad, we are sad, sad about the whole Tour de France. Mark deserves the tour’s respect. He will always be welcome with or without a bike ”.
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“We want to give it a try”
Mark was really one step away from his dream and a record win, but the fall and subsequent injury blacked it all out. It becomes sad that for Cavendish this was the last chance to establish a unique achievement.
The cyclist’s story turned out to be so sad that Astana Qazaqstan’s general manager Alexander Vinokurov offered the Briton a new contract if he would stay in the sport for one more season.
“We are ready to give him this opportunity. But it’s up to him to decide,” Vinokourov told L’Équipe. “We want Mark to continue racing in 2024 and ride his 15th Tour de France to win his 35th stage. I myself broke my hip on the Tour in 2011 and that was my last year. But he didn’t want to just stop. I stayed and fought hard to become an Olympic champion in London next year. Mark has the same mindset and determination to achieve his ultimate goal. We are ready to give him this opportunity.”
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In fact, the best option for Cavendish would be to stay in the sport for one more season to achieve a unique achievement in the Tour de France. But whether Mark will decide on this and whether he will have enough strength is another question. Meanwhile, the Briton leaves as the winner of 34 stages of the Great Loop, 16 stages of the Giro d’Italia and three stages of the Vuelta.
