As sprinters were going full speed before the finish line of Stage 4 of the 2017 Tour de France, Mark Cavendish hit a barrier and fell hard. He stayed down on the road as the peloton rode gingerly past him. Race radio announced after the stage that he was treated for a shoulder injury.
Mark Cavendish injured in ugly crash with Peter Sagan at the Tour de France
Peter Sagan was docked 30 seconds and 80 points for throwing out his elbow as Mark Cavendish tried to pass.
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
It had been a clean race until riders passed under the 1-kilometer-to-go banner. In the peloton, a crash took out several riders, including the yellow jersey bearer, Geraint Thomas. No serious injuries have been reported from that incident.
Then Cavendish fell hard on his right shoulder just before the finish line. He was trying to follow the wheel of the eventual stage winner, France’s Arnaud Démare, by squeezing between Peter Sagan and the barrier, and as Cavendish tried to make space, Sagan bumped into him, sending the Manxman into the barrier.
Cavendish was then struck by John Degenkolb and Ben Swift, who both also hit the ground. Cavendish laid on the road for several minutes, wincing in pain.
There will be some debate after this stage about who is at fault. Sagan drifted into Cavendish’s line, and appeared to have his elbow out as he bumped into Cavendish, but Cavendish may have made contact first, forcing Sagan to throw out his elbow to balance his bike. Both riders were trying to stay on Démare’s wheel.
Nonetheless, Sagan was disqualified from the Tour de France for the incident. He was initially given a 30-second penalty on the stage, dropping him to 115th place on the day. He had moved up to No. 2 on the provisional general classification, seven seconds behind Thomas, thanks to the time bonus he received for finishing second on the stage.
Though it is difficult to judge a rider’s intent, many camera angles did not show Sagan in a good light during the incident.
Sagan reportedly apologized after the stage. Cavendish, however, was clearly unhappy about the proceedings.
Cavendish is second all time with 30 stage wins in his career at the Tour de France. He was hoping to add to that total — four behind Eddy Merckx -- but he has had a rough year. In April, he announced that he would be canceling race appearances before the Tour because he was battling a glandular fever. He admitted that he wasn’t at 100 percent to ride the Tour. Here’s hoping Cav is OK to continue his ride.
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