As Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan) was barrelling toward his record 35th Tour de France stage win, behind him Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) had suddenly hit the deck leaving Axel Zingle (Cofidis) – who was just tailing off after leading out teammate Bryan Coquard – with a quick decision to make as he headed toward the line in Saint Vulbas.
“It happened very quickly. I had finished my job for Bryan, I had moved aside,” said Zingle in a team media statement. “For me, the race was already over even though I was still going at 60 km/h. I didn’t expect to have a fall in front of me.”
