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Injured Cavendish out of Tour

July 6, 2014

British rider Mark Cavendish has been ruled out of the Tour de France with a dislocated shoulder. The sprint specialist fell heavily late in the opening stage, which was won by German rider Marcel Kittel.

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Sport - Tour de France 2014
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Cavendish's Omega Pharma - Quick-Step (OPQS) team announced on Sunday morning via Twitter that the 29-year-old would not be able to start the second stage owing to his shoulder injury.

The rider from the Isle of Man, 25 times a stage winner at the Tour over the years, was among the major favorites to claim the opening sprint finish into Harrogate on Saturday, but crashed out in the closing stages in a collision with Australia's Simon Gerrans. In visible pain, with his arm folded, Cavendish remounted to complete the last few meters.

The OPQS team confirmed on Saturday night that Cavendish had dislocated his shoulder, but said that a final decision on his Tour participation would be taken before the start of stage 2. Cavendish apologized to Gerrans after the incident on Saturday evening.

"I'm gutted about the crash today. It was my fault. I'll personally apologize to Simon Gerrans as soon as I get the chance," Cavendish had said. "In reality, I tried to find a gap that wasn't really there. I wanted to win today, I felt really strong and was in a great position to contest the sprint thanks to the unbelievable efforts of my team."

German sprint star Marcel Kittel was able to capitalize on the "Manx Missile" Cavendish's crash, laying early claim to the leader's yellow jersey with a stage 1 win.

Riders head from York to Sheffield on Sunday, the second of three stages taking place in England at the beginning of this year's four-country route. As many as 2 million spectators are expected to line the stretch, but on Saturday, Sky team leader Chris Froome asked fans to show a little more consideration for the riders when thronging to the roadsides.

"The crowds out on the climbs today were massive," Cavendish said. "At one point we only had about a meter and a half (roughly five feet) to ride on the road. I think we can expect the same tomorrow. The crowds were well behaved but if anything I'd just ask if the crowds could give us a bit of space."

Sunday's stage is the fifth-longest of this year's Tour, meaning sprinters like Kittel and the now-excluded Cavendish are not expected to stay the course for the final charge. The final UK leg is a shorter run from Cambridge to London on Monday.

msh/tj (AFP, Reuters, SID)