Cavendish out of Tour de France after failing to make time cut

LA ROSIERE, France (Reuters) - Mark Cavendish’s hopes of winning a Tour de France stage this year vanished for good on Wednesday when the Briton was disqualified from the race after failing to make the time cut on the 11th stage. Dimension Data rider Cavendish crossed the line one hour five minutes and 33 seconds after stage winner Geraint Thomas, way outside the time limit that had been set at 31:27. Sprint specialist Cavendish, who has 30 Tour stage wins to his name, had appeared out of form on this year’s edition, failing to fight for victory in the flat stages. Also out of the race are his team mate Mark Renshaw and German Marcel Kittel, winner of 14 Tour stages.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)