Michael Morkov leaves Tour de France after 200 kilometers alone: "It was so indescribably hard"
Cycling
Michael Morkov didn't finish the Giro d'Italia as planned, however after a bad day he had to abandon the Tour de France as he reached the finish of stage 15 outside the time limit.
Morkov had started the hot day in a complicated position as he was dropped in the first hilltops of the day. As the team managed to support Fabio Jakobsen into returning to the peloton, Morkov didn't have that luck and couldn't follow the convoy in the soaring hot temperatures that are currently hitting southern France.
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Morkov rode the whole stage by himself, arriving in Carcassonne over an hour after the peloton. Despite the extended time limit on the day as a precaution measure, it was not enough to keep the veteran in the race.
"It's sad to leave a great race like this. It was so indescribably hard. I knew it would be a tough fight today, and see if it would be enough to continue the race," he told reporters at the end of the day.
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"I believed all day. Maybe I was a bit optimistic, but with 25 kilometers to the finish, I could see that I'd have to go an average of 60Km/h, and even if it was downhill, I wouldn't be able to do it alone. There I knew, that it would be near impossible," he added.
This will be another hit for Fabio Jakobsen who lost a key support rider for the final stages.

Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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He fought incredibly, rode alone the last 180 kilometers of this fast, hard and sweltering hot #TDF2022 stage and made us all proud, despite not finishing inside the time limit. @MichaelMorkov, you’re the man 👏 Massive respect 👊 Photo: @BeelWout
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