The eighth Tour de France stage was won by Mads Pedersen, who sprinted to victory ahead of Jasper Philipsen and Wout van Aert.

The best Norwegian driver was Uno-X racer Rasmus Fossum Tiller, who finished ninth.

Sure enough, it was Mark Cavendish from England who stole the show. With 64 kilometers to go on the eighth stage, Cavendish arrived on the tarmac. The Englishman lay on the ground writhing in pain, clutching his collarbone.

– So heartbreaking, wrote former top cyclist Marcel Kittel on Twitter after what turned out to be the end of Mark Cavendish’s Tour de France career.

Soon after, he was taken to an ambulance, where he received fast treatment. Cavendish never got out of the car again, and with that ended this year’s Tour de France. He retired after the season.

– It’s sad, because he told me yesterday that he wants to win that famous record. This may be the last we see of Mark, and it’s boring that it will end that way, Kurt Asle Arvesen told NRK of Cavendish.

He is now on his way to the hospital for an X-ray, with what appears to be a broken collarbone.

– Once I broke my collarbone, and it hurt so much that I can never ride a bicycle again, said Thor Hushovd on TV 2 broadcast.

Maybe come back

During Friday’s stage, the Briton had the chance to make history, when he could claim his 35th stage win in the Tour de France. With that, he would single-handedly secure a record number of stage wins. Instead, it ended in a dismal second place, behind Belgian Jasper Philipsen.

He now stands at 34, the same number as legend Eddy Merckx.

– He has been chasing this record for a long time. As I know “Cav” I know that you shouldn’t delete it. He has shown he has the form to fight for stage wins, so maybe he will be back next year, former teammate Matthew Hayman told NRK.

Debuted in 2007

Cavendish is one of the most well-known cyclists, and debuted on tour in early 2007. The following year he began racking up stage wins.

He is described by many as the world’s fastest sprinter.

He became road racing world champion in 2011, and has won 34 stage wins in the Tour de France. He also has 17 stage wins from the Giro d’Italia and three from the Vuelta a España.

It has now been confirmed in the Tour de France website that the Brit pulled out of the race.

More falls

The day also got off to a dramatic start for the Norwegian team when Torstein Træen hit the asphalt after two miles, on his way out of a roundabout.

– He had landed on his back, cycling jersey open and radio hanging outside. That’s probably number two. Huff, he looks like a beaten man, poor thing, commented TV expert 2 Hushovd.

But Træen got back on his bike and received medical attention quickly, before pedaling off to the main court.

Alexander Kristoff has not been successful in the sprint so far in the race, and therefore Søren Wærenskjold or Tiller should get their chance in Saturday’s stage. Tiller ended up sprinting and coasting to an 8th-place finish.

– I may have been a bit behind going into the last turn. I wasn’t that good in the last position fights, but I feel I came back well. It was a tough day, he told TV 2 after the finish line.