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Sprint specialist Cavendish, who has 30 Tour
stage wins to his name, crossed the line one hour five minutes
and 33 seconds after stage winner Geraint Thomas, far outside
the time limit that had been set at 31:27.
While he could have stepped off his bike and climbed into the
broom wagon, which sweeps up riders falling behind the time
limit, Cavendish insisted on finishing the 158-km stage to La
Rosiere on his bike.
"Hats off to Mr Cavendish," Prudhomme said to Reuters before the
start of the 12th stage on Thursday. "That was such a mark of
respect for the Tour."
Prudhomme said he had to press the local authorities not to open
the roads to circulation again in order to allow Cavendish to
finish the stage safely.
"I want to say thank you to Mark Cavendish. It's such a mark of
respect from the best sprinter of the Tour's history," Prudhomme
said.
Cavendish had appeared out of form, never being in the mix for
the final sprint in the flat stages.
The 33-year-old won his first Tour stage in 2008 and his last in
2016. Only Belgian great Eddy Merckx has won more stage wins on
the Tour, with 34 stage victories to his name.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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