The mood by the Astana Qazaqstan team bus on Saturday was solemn. As the riders slowly returned from the finish line in Limoges, beads of sweat rolling down their faces, barely a word was shared. The race had been a disaster.
With 63km to go, the team’s talisman Mark Cavendish crashed in the bunch. Everyone around him stood up, brushed themselves off and darted to rejoin the peloton. He stayed on the ground.
