British rider Mark Cavendish is undergoing medical checks after being forced to pull out of the Abu Dhabi Tour following a crash in the neutral zone on stage one.
The Manxman, who won the opening stage of last year’s race, hit the deck shortly after setting off from Madinat Zayed.
The 32-year-old got back on his bike, but was forced to abandon soon after.
Oh no… unfortunately @MarkCavendish has had to abandon the @Abu_Dhabi_Tour after that early crash. ?
— Team Dimension Data (@TeamDiData) February 21, 2018
Cavendish’s team Dimension Data confirmed in a post on their official Twitter feed that the British rider had fallen “on the same shoulder he broke last year” following a crash with Peter Sagan on stage four of the Tour de France.
“He got up and chased back to the peloton but had to abondon soon after. More info to come after medical check,” Dimension Data added.
Here it is, the first stage of this year’s race, ready to set the scene for another exciting edition of the Abu Dhabi Tour. Who do you think could win Stage One and take the leader’s jersey?#RideToAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/p6Q6sgTiZW
— Abu Dhabi Tour (@Abu_Dhabi_Tour) February 21, 2018
Wednesday’s crash happened ahead of the official start of the 189km opening stage between Madinat Zaya and Adnoc School.
Television replays showed the incident appeared to have been caused when the race director’s car slowed down in front of the peloton, which resulted in a groups of riders behind having to brake sharply, with several then falling down.
