‘My chances were ruined by that crash’ - Mark Cavendish’s first shot at Tour de France sprint victory wrecked by late chaos

TORINO ITALY JULY 01 Mark Cavendish of The United Kingdom and Astana Qazaqstan Team competes during the 111th Tour de France 2024 Stage 3 a 2308km stage from Piacenza to Torino UCIWT on July 01 2024 in Torino Italy Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
Mark Cavendish on stage 3 of the Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images)

Mark Cavendish’s first shot at claiming a 35th stage victory at the Tour de France ended when a high-speed crash in the peloton with two kilometres to go forced him to hit the brakes on stage 3 in Turin.

Israel-Premier Tech and Cofidis riders went down, and Cavendish and his Astana-Qazaqstan lead-out train were stuck behind them. Davide Ballerini was ahead of his teammates and sprinted to a frustrated eighth place. but that was of little consolation. 

Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.

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