Mark Cavendish is out of this year’s Tour de France with a shoulder injury sustained in a crash on the final stretch of yesterday’s opening stage in Harrogate, Yorkshire.
The 25 time Tour stage winner collided with Australian rider Simon Gerrans, crashing to the road and suffering a separated AC joint in the fall.
The 29 year old Cavendish said he is “absolutely devastated” to withdraw from the Tour.
"We kind of knew last night. We knew straight away. I normally bounce back from some crashes quite well; I assessed my body yesterday and for the first time in my career I knew something was wrong.
"I was in pain last night. I held a bit of optimism that it was maybe just swelling and would go down overnight, but it's actually worse this morning. It's not possible to start, from a medical point of view."
The Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider was helped across the line several minutes after the German rider Marcel KIttel had crossed to take the stage and be the first man to wear the yellow jersey this year.
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