British sprinter Mark Cavendish withdrew from the Tour de France to focus on his bid for a first Olympic medal at the Rio Olympics 2016 games in just over two weeks. There are five stages left in the race this year, four of which are in the Alps, but Cavendish will not now be starting stage 17 on Wednesday. Cavendish said in a statement that, "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," "After the heat and intensity of the previous stages, we analysed my fatigue levels and decided I'm at a point that would have a detrimental effect on my other big goal for the year, the Olympic Games. "To leave a race and organisation that I hold so much respect for and a team that I have such a special bond with has not been an easy decision at all”, he added.