Mark Cavendish suffered a broken collarbone in a crash in the peloton with 60km remaining in stage 8 of the Tour de France and had to abandon the race.

Cavendish crashed with a small group of riders, including Perrot Bilbao, who was visibly the most seriously injured. The live video feed showed an ominous image of Cavendish rubbing his collarbone before being examined by the race doctor.

Shortly thereafter, he was taken to an ambulance, and although the extent of his injuries was not initially known, it was confirmed that he had abandoned the race.

"Mark Cavendish broke his right collarbone. 'Additionally, due to the fracture, the osteosynthetic screw in his acromioclavicular joint (which has been there since his crash at the 2017 Tour de France) has come loose.'

Stage 8 was always likely to be a race of punchers, given the hills in the second half, so Cavendish was riding defensively in the peloton. However, the crash was apparently caused by a wheel collision inside the peloton with less than 60 km to go, which knocked several riders down.

Astana Kazakstan confirmed the abandonment on Twitter shortly after Cavendish left the shoulder.

"Mark Cavendish crashed with Pero Bilbao 60km before the finish and was forced to abandon. He left the race in an ambulance. We will announce further information as soon as it becomes available.

The team later confirmed details of the injury on Saturday evening.

Cavendish was passed by Jasper Philipsen on Saturday's stage 7 and also suffered mechanical problems, narrowly missing out on a record-breaking 35th stage win.

The stage 7 sprint was a turbulent affair, with Philipsen deviating from the racing line, prompting Astana-Kazakhstan coach Alexander Vinokurov to file a complaint.

He set a top speed of 74.7 km/h in a group sprint on stage 7 with 300 meters to go, suggesting that he might break the infamous Tour de France stage win record set by Eddy Merckx.

After the race, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme paid tribute to the historic sprinter.

"It was an emotional day," he said. He was very sad right after the crash. He is the best sprinter in the history of the Tour de France.

"He was looking for his 35th stage win. And yesterday he was second. For two or three seconds yesterday we thought he was going to achieve his goal. So he's sad, we're sad, the Tour de France is sad."

Prudhomme made it clear that the sprinter he considers the greatest in the race will always be welcome at the Tour. 'Marc deserves the respect of the Tour. He will always be welcome, bike or no bike."

Mark left the Tour de France on stage 8, a sad end to the career of a sprinter who announced at the Giro d'Italia that this season would be his last.

Fans around the world had hoped that Cavendish would complete his career as one of the greatest sprinters of all time with a final stage win in the French race. His abandonment was a disappointment for the race, the team, and fans around the world.