He ended it mid-way through stage eight in an ambulance, his race and Tour de France career over.
The rider from the Isle of Man was already the greatest sprinter in Tour de France history.
No other rider has come close to his 34 wins in bunch-sprints — the bear-pit of professional cycling where none but the bravest of riders can afford to mix it in close confines at speeds in excess of 70 kilometres per hour.
Long-retired Frenchmen André Barricade and André Leducq are closest to matching him with 22 each.
As well as winning the green points jersey twice, Cavendish has won the iconic final stage on the a record four times — no other rider has won that most famous of stages more than twice.
Mark Cavendish is out of the Tour de France.(AP Photo: Thibault Camus)
His four victories in a row in the Tour’s final stage was highlighted by winning in the world champions rainbow jersey in 2012, having been led out for the win by yellow jersey winner and long-time friend Bradley Wiggins.
Cavendish’s 34 stage wins came between 2008 and 2021, and he had already equalled the record of cycling’s greatest ever rider, Eddy Merckx.
He needed just one more win to stand alone.
That win almost came on stage seven, when a mechanical issue meant he could not fully commit to his sprint when bursting into the finish at Bordeaux.
Instead, Jasper Philip send breezed past the British star to claim a third-straight sprint win.
Jasper Philip send just edged past Mark Cavendish on the seventh stage.(AP Photo: Thibaut’s Camus)
“I would have loved to see him win, like everybody,” Philip send said after that stage seven win.
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