Mark Cavendish slams bike into the ground and storms off after row with mechanic with Brit chasing Tour de France record… but he later apologises for his outburst
- Mark Cavendish lashed out at a mechanic before stage 19 of the Tour de France
- Cavendish was heard shouting ‘Sort it out!’ and ‘F**king Hell’ at the staff member
- He apologised for the incident on Instagram, saying he regretted the outburst
- ‘We are put in a perilous situation and I wanted my bike to be perfect’ he said
Mark Cavendish had a furious row with a mechanic on the Tour de France after complaining about the state of his bike ahead of stage 19 as he chased the record for most stage wins ever.
The Brit was filmed slamming his bike to the ground after speaking to the mechanic before shouting ‘Sort it out’ to him as he trotted towards the team bus.
Once on the bus, Cavendish can be heard shouting ‘F**king Hell’.
Mark Cavendish shouted ‘Sort it out!’ at a mechanic as he let rip about the state of his bike
Cavendish was looking to beat Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 stage wins at the Tour de France
He later apologised for the outburst, saying he wanted his bike to be in top shape as riders are put in ‘a perilous condition’ when racing but regretting reacting as he did.
Cavendish has had a stunning comeback this year and has already made history on the Tour by equalling Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 stage wins.
He was aiming to eclipse Merckx’s tally in stage 19, with Merckx cheering him on from the sidelines, but he finished 111th on the day, over 20 minutes behind winner Matej Mohoric.
But his spat with the mechanic became a big story after the stage as the footage of the row emerged on social media, prompting Cavendish to respond.
‘Many of you will have seen the video from the start of today’s stage,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘During a day of the Tour de France, as riders we are put in a perilous situation and I wanted my bike to be perfect, in order to help me stay safe.
Cavendish, 36, has won four stages at this Tour and is poised to win the green jersey
‘My bike had some problems when I got on it this morning. Despite this, I should not have reacted in the way that I did and not so publicly.
‘I’ve been extremely close friends with my mechanics for over a decade and they’ve worked tirelessly to ensure I’ve always been safe and successful.
Although they know how short I can be when I’m stressed, no-one, especially those you care about, deserve to have a voice raised to them.
‘Truly, one of the biggest factors of the success @deceuninck_quickstepteam is that we are a family, and we love and care for each other, and conversations should be kept within that family.’