Heartbroken Mark Cavendish admitted he was “bitterly disappointed” after Jasper Philipsen denied him a record-breaking Tour de France win on the line in Bordeaux.
Sixteen years to the day since the Manx Missile made his debut on Le Tour, at the Grand Depart in London, Cavendish hit the front 100 yards from the line.
But Philipsen summoned the finishing power to claim a third consecutive bunch sprint win, leaving 38-year-old Cavendish cursing his near-miss with immortality – and still tied with Belgian legend Eddy Merckx on 34 career stage wins.
With his family there to greet him beyond the finish, Cavendish revealed a minor problem with his gears had proved decisive, saying: “I was in quite a good position. It looked like I was far back but I was OK, where I wanted to be, because it’s a long, straight finish.
“I kicked a little earlier than I’d like, but once I kicked, the gears jumped from the 11 to the 12 and I had to sit down. Cadence just whacks up. Then it goes back to the 11th and I tried to stand up when I needed to sit down.
“There was nothing you could do – except kind of hope. I'm bitterly disappointed, majorly disappointed, but we keep on trying.”
The key to Philipsen's domination of the sprints has been his lead-out train, Mathieu van der Poel in particular, and they gave him just enough scope to overhaul Cavendish at the end of the 105.5-mile stage seven from Mont-de-Marsan.
Philipsen said: Philipsen said: "If you told me (three stage wins) one week ago, I'd think you were crazy.
"(Cavendish) was really strong. I would also have loved to see him win - I think everybody would - but I'm sure he will keep on trying. He's up there, in good condition.”
