"It is a great pity that such a legend has to leave the Tour like this" - Mads Pedersen pays tribute to Mark Cavendish after taking victory on stage 8

Mads Pedersen has taken the second Tour de France stage win of his career, sprinting to a brilliant victory on stage 8 in Limoges.

"We didn't know if it would be for the breakaway or sprinters, but the sprinter teams didn't want an apparent breakaway," said the Lidl-Trek sprinter in his post-stage interview. “I tried to join them a few times, but they wouldn't let me go. From that moment on I saved my energy and bounced along. We kept calm and the boys did a great job. Despite a long sprint I was able to keep going, so the legs were good."

The final drag up to the line was brutal and despite launching his sprint early, Pedersen managed to hold off the likes of Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen in a dramatic finale. “Man, it was a long sprint and it hurt. About fifty meters I almost sat down, but Jasper Philipsen also had to come a long way. However, it doesn't matter whether you win by five meters or two millimetres."

Finally, Pedersen had a word for Mark Cavendish who was sadly forced to abandon his final Tour de France after a crash. “It was a pleasure for me to race against Mark. I have a good relationship with him. It is a great pity that such a legend has to leave the Tour like this. I wish him all the best and hopefully I can compete in his last race.”