
Mark Cavendish hung his head in disappointment after watching Jasper Philipsen blast by him at the last to deny the Manxman a record-breaking Tour de France victory on the line in Bordeaux.
The script seemed perfect for Cavendish to take a 35th career Tour stage win and move clear of Eddy Merckx – 16 years to the day after he made his Tour debut in London in 2007, and in Bordeaux, scene of his 14th win the last time the Tour visited in 2010 and for so long the race’s home of sprinting.