After being described as ‘the man who wouldn’t quit’ on Wednesday, Bora-Argon 18’s Shane Archbold was forced to leave the Tour de France on Thursday with a broken pelvis.
The Kiwi crashed hard on stage 17 to Finhaut-Emosson but soldiered on to the finish, bandaged up by the medical car and finishing 39 minutes down on stage winner Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha).
Pictures were taken of Archbold’s bike, broken in two on the road, but Bora-Argon 18 ‘reassured’ fans that the bike survived the impact, but was broken when Cofidis rider Borut Bozic hit it at high speed moments later.
Bozic didn’t continue after the crash, having hit the ground at a reported 74kph on the descent of the Col des Mosses – his second crash of the day.
Medical inspections after the stage showed a fracture in Archbold’s pelvis and the man with the best mullet in cycling was forced to wave goodbye to the Tour.
As long as the mullet isnt cut, its all good. come back soon, peloton misses you! @Theflyingmullet @LeTour #TDF2016 pic.twitter.com/F1qkQmam0e
— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) July 21, 2016
Heard that @Theflyingmullet finished the stage yesterday with a broken pelvis! That counts for finishing two grand tours. Speedy recovery.
— Simon Geschke (@simongeschke) July 21, 2016
Fabian Cancellara also departed the Tour on Wednesday night, waiting until after the final stage in his homeland, Switzerland, before calling it a day to focus on the Olympic Games.
Cancellara was riding his final Tour de France, having announced his decision to retire at the end of the season. He holds the record for wearing the yellow jersey for the most number of days without winning the general classification, which stands at 29.
