Despite winning four stages of the Tour de France, British cyclist Mark Cavendish has pulled out of the race so he can rest and prepare for the Rio Olympics.
He was named to Great Britain’s Olympic cycling team to compete in the omnium, a two-day track cycling event consisting of six races. That takes place Aug. 14-15, giving Cavendish less than four weeks to prepare.
“After an extremely enjoyable and successful couple of weeks at the Tour de France with Team Dimension Data, it is with great sadness that I took the decision today to leave the race,” he said in a statement.