Shortly after breaking the Tour last week, he still had a goal to be able to go to the Olympics in Tokyo.

But now it is clear that he will not go there, the Slovak Olympic Committee announces.

The 31-year-old's knee became infected and he was forced to undergo surgery.

An operation that keeps him away from the Olympics.

MORE CYCLE: Here Cavendish touches the record for most stage victories at the Tour de France (July 9)

Javascript is disabled

Javascript must be turned on to play video

Read more about browser support

The browser is not supported

SVT does not support playback in your browser.

We therefore recommend that you switch to another browser.

Read more about browser support

Mark Cavendish was emotional after the victory. Photo: TT News Agency