Mads Pedersen wins eighth stage of Tour de France after Mark Cavendish crashes out

Denmark's Mads Pedersen won the eighth stage of the Tour de France, a 200-km ride from Libourne on Saturday.

His compatriot Jonas Vingegaard retained the overall leader's yellow jersey on a day where the main incident was Briton Mark Cavendish crashing out of the race after a heavy fall.

Former world champion Pedersen claimed a second career stage win at the Tour de France with a big burst of power to win a mass sprint.

Pedersen proved the strongest in the long final stretch of road leading to the finish line and the Danish rider held off a late challenge from Jasper Philipsen, who had won all three previous sprints this year.

Wout Van Aert completed the stage podium in third.

The stage was marred by several crashes, including the one that ruled Cavendish out of the race. The ace sprinter hit the ground with 64 kilometers left while riding at the back of the peloton.

The 38-year-old, who will retire at the end of the year, fell off his bike and was taken into an ambulance for checks before his withdrawal was made official by race organisers.

⏪ A very fast finish in Limoges crowning a very fast Dane. Relive the final kilometer of Stage 8 of the #TDF2023 ⏪Une arrivée ultra rapide à Limoges pour couronner un Danois ultra rapide. Revivez le dernier kilomètre de la 8e étape du #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/dUvWivK4d5

The Astana-Qazaqstan rider was looking to become the only man with 35 stage wins on the world's greatest cycling race, to beat the record he shares with Belgian great Eddy Merckx, who bagged 34 victories from 1969-75.

On Friday, Cavendish came close to achieving his goal when he took second place in the seventh stage in Bordeaux after suffering a mechanical problem in the final straight.

Pedersen was swift to hail