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Coming from behind with a powerful sprint in the closing metres of Stage 7, Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) looked like he was about to reach his goal of breaking Eddy Merckx's record for the most stage wins at the Tour de France.
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) put that dream on hold, coming around a devastated Cavendish to claim his third stage victory of 2023.
“I’m bitterly disappointed, really majorly disappointed,” Cavendish said.
“But we’ll keep on trying."
It looked to some like the Manx Missile may have run out of steam after being forced to launch his sprint from a long way back, but it turned out to be a mechanical issue at fault.
Cavendish revealed that the chain was slipping between the 11th and 12th gears, robbing him of the ability to keep pushing power through the pedals all the way to the finish line in the final 30 to 40 metres of the 170-kilometre stage to Bordeaux.
“I jumped when I wanted to but unfortunately, I had a problem with my gears when I was sprinting,” Cavendish said.
“It went from the 11 to the 12, and I had to sit down to get back to the 11. I stood up and it went back to the 12, so I’m pretty devastated actually. The boys did a good job. It was one of those situations where it’s not meant to be.”
Cavendish currently holds the joint record of 34 stage wins with Merckx and whether he will or won't be able to claim victory number 35 is one of the compelling stories within the story of the 2023 Tour de France.
While coming so close is a sure sign that the form is there, a near miss for reasons outside the popular Manxman's control is a tough pill to swallow.
“It’s not belief then, it’s hope. It is what it is, but we’ll try again," Cavendish said.
Despite being visibly gutted with coming so close to the win, the 38-year-old was quick to praise teammate Cees Bol for his contribution to the result.
“He was like an assassin, he just does what he needed to do,” Cavendish said.
“If he has to start work earlier than the actual lead-out to get me in position, then he’ll do that. He did a perfect move to get me in the right wheels for the last (kilometre), and then it was just a case of timing when I jumped.”
"I think it really hurts Cav, because, yeah, a finish like that's not gonna come around again," former teammate Mark Renshaw said to SBS Sport.
"There's maybe one before Paris, really."
Renshaw has come to the Tour specifically to work with Cavendish in the hunt for his 35th stage win.
While raw power and a faultless bike are two crucial ingredients needed to achieve the much-anticipated win, the Stage 7 result paints a positive picture for stages to come.
The form is certainly there. So is the team support and Cavendish's proven ability to negotiate a hectic lead-up to the final metres.
"To see him miss it by half a bike length, I think he's really disappointed. And so is everybody in the team," Renshaw said.
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Stage 7 - Mini Stage - Tour de France 2023
"Once we come onto the main straight, I think Cees Bol put him in a perfect position. We could see he was really on the back foot, 500 to go.
"He moved up the right beside Girmay and he had to launch a long way out - I think about anywhere from 350 to 300 (metres to go)."
Then came the skipping chain issue.
"I think the fire is out for the moment. We'll need a couple of days to restart it before the next sprint, I think in (Stage) 17 or 18," Renshaw said.
"He's gonna have to regroup, re-find himself.
"But, you know, he's done it 100 times before."
Given how much has to go right to amass 34 Tour de France stage wins, one thing is for sure: if anyone has the experience to negotiate the many chaotic variables that have to come together to cross the line first, it's Cavendish.
