Tadej Pogacar said he was “very sad” on Saturday to see Mark Cavendish, one of his “youth idols”, abandon the Tour de France after a fall during the 8th stage. “When I heard during the race that Mark had fallen, I was really very sad. Everyone wanted him to win a stage. He was in good shape. Yesterday (Friday) he was very close. It’s really ugly,” said the Slovenian, double winner of the Tour de France in 2020 and 2021. “He was one of my childhood idols. I still remember when I watched him sprinting on television in his HTC jersey on the Champs Élysées. I wanted to have the same style, the same legs,” added Pogacar, 24.
Mark Cavendish, who was aiming to beat the Tour de France stage victory record he holds with Eddy Merckx (34), gave up after falling in the middle of the peloton about sixty kilometers from the finish. The 38-year-old Briton, for his last participation in the Tour, was evacuated by ambulance holding his right shoulder.
