Cavendish quits Tour de France

The 31-year-old won four stages this year and now has 30 in the bag overall, meaning the “Manx Missile” is creeping up on Belgian legend Eddy Merckx and the all-time record of 34 stage wins. There are five stages left in the race this year, four of which are in the Alps, but Cavendish will not now be starting stage 17 on Wednesday.

“After an extremely enjoyable and successful couple of weeks at the Tour de France, it is with great sadness that I took the decision today to leave the race. After the heat and intensity of the previous stages, we analysed my fatigue levels and decided I’m at a point that would have a detrimental effect on my other big goal for the year, the Olympic Games,” Cavendish said.