Mark Cavendish is out of the Tour de France after missing the time cut by more than half an hour on stage 11.

The Manxman finally crossed the line in La Rosiere some 65 minutes after stage winner Geraint Thomas, who was deep into the post-race press conference when Cavendish reached the ski station at the end of a 108.5km run from Albertville.

The time cut had been set at 31 minutes 27 seconds after Thomas crossed the line.

It means the 33-year-old, who has a property in Ongar, has ended a second consecutive Tour early without adding to his tally of 30 Tour stage wins, still four shy of Eddy Merckx's all-time record.

He was one of three riders eliminated by the time cut on the day, along with team-mate Mark Renshaw and fellow sprinter Marcel Kittel, who like Cavendish has endured a frustrating Tour one year on from winning five stages in the 2017 edition.

Kittel's team-mate Rick Zabel came home just five seconds after the time cut, but found the commissaires in forgiving mood as he suffered a late mechanical, meaning the German will take the start today.

It was a second straight day of struggle for Cavendish, who was only 28 seconds inside the time cut on Tuesday as part of a large gruppetto.

Cavendish won four stages in the 2016 Tour, but since then has suffered a succession of illnesses and injuries.

"He's lean and he looks in good shape but it shows the lack of racing he's had," said Team Dimension Data boss Doug Ryder as he waited for his sprinter to reach the finish line. "He hasn't ridden a Grand Tour since 2016."

It was a bitter disappointment for the South African-registered team, who marked Mandela Day in 2015 with Steve Cummings' Tour stage victory in Mende, but ended this one with the loss of their star man.

Cavendish did not hang around to speak to reporters himself, crossing the line and immediately turning around to freewheel back to the team's hotel for the night.

Cavendish's fate was clear from midway through the stage, with Dimension Data electing to call forward Julien Vermote and Jay Thomson from pacing duties to avoid them suffering the same fate.

Though he knew what was coming, Cavendish insisted on finishing the stage rather than hitching a ride in the broom wagon.

Speaking at the start of the Tour, Ryder had sounded unsure if Cavendish would survive the mountains, trying instead to put the focus on sprint opportunities in the first week, though the best he could manage was eighth place on stage eight to Amiens.

"We went in hot," Ryder said. "We wanted to try and win early because the opportunities were there and there was a chance of a yellow jersey. Sadly it didn't materialise.

"For sure we were hoping that he would get through today and tomorrow so that he could focus on Friday. We were hoping Cav would get better but I guess the lack of racing over the last two years has affected his power to get through tough tours."

Though a contract has yet to be announced, Ryder has said he has an agreement in principle for Cavendish to stay with his team, and he remains convinced Cavendish can still catch Merckx.

"You never write off someone like Cav and he's still young. Guys like (Andre) Greipel are still winning stages and they're two or three years older than Cav.

"His mind is very strong. He wants it badly. I think it's just physiology."