Drama unfolded on the sprint finish of stage 4 on the Tour de France in Vittel today as Mark Cavendish crashed into the barriers at full speed.
The Englishman was in contention to win the stage, only to seemingly receive an elbow from Slovakian rider Peter Sagan as Cavendish tried to bypass him in the final straight. The Manchester rider slammed into the barriers, causing John Degenkolb and Ben Swift to also crash.
It's possible that Sagan didn't realise quite how close the Dimension Data rider was to him as he sought to protect his lane, but the images don't paint a good picture for the World Champion.
Peter Sagan pousse-t-il Mark Cavendish lors du sprint massif ? Les images parlent d'elles même. #TDF2017 - https://t.co/TAkowkON5w pic.twitter.com/I6xhUoOvS5
— Dorian - Le Break (@Drinok21) July 4, 2017
Unconfirmed reports suggest Cavendish may have suffered a broken collarbone, which would be a massive blow to the cyclist after having just come back from a lengthy injury layoff. The rider told journalists afterwards that "I don't know (the extent of the injury), I gotta get it looked at," before heading off to the hospital. He added that he wanted to "speak with Peter".
Cavendish: "No soy fan de que alguien se cruce sacando el codo hacia mi cómo hizo Peter" (?@Eurosport_UK) pic.twitter.com/UTF5ndxrvZ
— COPEdaleando (@Copedaleando) July 4, 2017
Sagan at Dimension Data bus to check on Cavendish after crash in sprint pic.twitter.com/pAjUWvApcv
— Tom Cary (@tomcary_tel) July 4, 2017
Cavendish right hand pretty cut up pic.twitter.com/YRNJxbtpxy
— Tom Cary (@tomcary_tel) July 4, 2017
There are suggestions that Sagan, considered one of the all-time great riders, could be disqualified from the remainder of the grand tour, which would put an end to his run of five consecutive green jerseys.
UPDATE: Peter Sagan has been disqualified from the Tour De France.
