Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team confirms that Mark Cavendish underwent further examination on his right shoulder after today's crash.
The imaging underlined ligament ruptures with an AC-joint dislocation, which causes him a lot of pain. A final decision on his participation in tomorrow's stage will be taken tomorrow morning.
"I'm gutted about the crash today" Cavendish said. "It was my fault. I'll personally apologise to Simon Gerrans as soon as I get the chance. In reality, I tried to find a gap that wasn't really there .I wanted to win today, I felt really strong and in a great position to contest the sprint thanks to the unbelievable efforts of my team. Sorry to all the fans that came out to support - it was truly incredible."
OPQS rider Tony Martin was the top finisher for the team in the 190.5km Stage 1 of the Tour de France, from Leeds to Harrogate. OPQS took over command of the peloton with about 4km to go in the stage and led Cavendish all the way onto the final climb. Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) tried to ruin the hopes of a bunch sprint with an attack, but was caught in the final meters. Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) won the stage. Peter Sagan (Cannondale) was 2nd, and Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp) was 3rd. Cavendish crashed during the launch of the sprint.