Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) produced a monster sprint to win Stage 8 at the 2023 Tour de France as Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) suffered a heartbreaking crash to end his record bid.
Pedersen held off Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin–Deceuninck) in a fatiguing but fascinating finish as Jumbo-Visma's hard work to tee up Wout van Aert came to nothing, as the Belgian was boxed in by his own leadout rider before beginning his sprint.
Ad The stage was completed ahead of the fastest expected schedule, and began as it would go on, with a large number of teams and riders eager to get away, in the hope a break could be allowed to stick.
The eventual stage winner was among those who tried, only to abandon his efforts when it became clear that the sprint teams were determined for it to finish with a large — or at most a reduced — group gallop.