Cavendish crashes out of Tour of Britain

Mark Cavendish abandoned the Tour of Britain following a crash early in stage 6 which saw him land on the same shoulder he dislocated in the 2014 Tour de France. His Etixx-Quick-Step teammate, Matteo Trentin, on the other hand, went on to win on Friday in Nottingham.

The British sprinter, who is set to fly to Richmond for the world championships next week, is believed to have clipped a parked car about 20 kilometers into the stage. He was sent to the hospital where scans of his left shoulder revealed no fractures or dislocation. He sustained a large contusion on his left side.

“The X-rays underlined no fracture, or AC dislocation, of his shoulder, but a contusion was diagnosed. Cavendish will have to respect some days of rest before resuming training,” said a team statement.

Cavendish, a former world champion, dislocated his left AC joint in a crash during the first sprint for the 2014 Tour de France, sending him out of the race and into a recovery period that lasted more than four weeks.

The absence of a dislocation this time around will come as a relief. Friday’s crash came less than 24 hours after Cavendish was named to Britain’s worlds team, and just over two weeks from the world championship road race. The course is technical, but its climbs are short, and both Cavendish and his British team are hopeful the sprinter can make it to the finish line in the front group.

Cavendish did not win a stage of the Tour of Britain, but was involved in a successful lead-out for his young teammate Fernando Gaviria, a rising star of Colombian cycling.

Cavendish’ wife, Peta, took to Twitter following the incident.

Have spoken to the boy a few times, he is ok…we still don't know for sure the extent of injuries. But it could have been a lot worse.

— Peta Cavendish (@petatodd) September 11, 2015

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