Mark Cavendish, the British sprinter who holds the record for most stage wins at the Tour de France, has crashed out of his final edition of the race on Saturday.
Cavendish, who announced his retirement plans earlier this year, was riding at the back of the peloton when he fell and injured his right shoulder during the eighth stage from Dax to Limoges.
He was taken to an ambulance and looked pale before his team confirmed that he had broken his collarbone and could not continue.
The 38-year-old had equalled Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 Tour stage wins last year, but was not selected by his former team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl for this year’s race.
He joined Astana Qazaqstan in January and hoped to add one more victory to his tally, but was denied by Jasper Philipsen on Friday’s seventh stage.
Cavendish is one of the most decorated sprinters in cycling history, with 161 career wins, including 17 at the Giro d’Italia and one world championship title in 2011.
He also won the green jersey for the best sprinter at the Tour de France twice, in 2011 and 2021.
His crash was one of many that marred this year’s Tour, which has seen several riders abandon due to injuries.
Mads Pedersen, the former world champion from Denmark, won Saturday’s stage in a mass sprint ahead of Philipsen and Ivan Garcia Cortina.
