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 30 August 2008 01:51 BST

Cavendish withdraws from Tour ahead of Alps

Sunday, 20 Jul 2008 13:01
Cavendish has chosen not to take on the Alps
British cyclist Mark Cavendish has withdrawn from this year's Tour de France ahead of the first Apline stage today.

Cavendish has taken the Tour by storm after winning four stages in the first two weeks of this year's race.

The Team Columbia rider is currently fourth in the Green Jersey competition, which is contested by sprinters, but has chosen to retire from the race early because of his Olympic commitments.

Cavendish will team up with Bradley Wiggins in the Kieran event in Beijing and the pair are amongst the favourites to take the gold medal.

The Manxman's four stage wins on the Tour are a record for a British cyclist. Cavendish won on the fifth, eighth, 12th and 13th stages.

Cavendish had only planned on winning one stage and then possibly returning home but following his excellent form, chose to continue.

Earlier in the week Cavendish said: "I only planned to do ten days of the Giro but finished it and now I'm 13 days into the Tour not feeling too tired - I'll take every day as it comes and see how far I can get."

The 23-year-old crashed on one of the stages in the Pyrenees and finished last on that day. However, despite suffering injuries during the crash he bounced back to win two more stages.

But with the arduous Alpine stages ahead Cavendish has chosen to end his successful Tour before reaching finish in Paris.End of story


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