Peter Sagan disqualified after clash that may have ended Mark Cavendishs Tour

[muriel_volestrangler]

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The world champion, Peter Sagan, was thrown out of the Tour de France for a dangerous move in the sprint finish at the end of stage four that left Mark Cavendish’s future in the race hanging by a thread after a horrendous crash 200 metres from the finish line.

Cavendish sustained a heavy cut to his hand and was taken to hospital for x-rays to investigate possible injuries to the shoulder he damaged in a similar pile-up at the end of the first stage of the Tour in Harrogate in July 2014. In a chaotic finale, the yellow jersey holder, Geraint Thomas, also fell – but to no ill effect.

Cavendish’s sporting director at Dimension Data, Roger Hammond, described the move that led to Sagan’s expulsion as “a flick of the elbow which was completely outrageous”. He added: “No one comes out of it well. This is a sad, sad day for the sport, Sagan is a hero and an idol of mine but a precedent has to be set.”

Sagan was initially relegated to 115th place on the stage – last place in the lead bunch – and received the standard sanction of a 30-second time penalty but the president of the jury, Philippe Marien, said the referees applied a sterner sanction because the world champion “had put several other riders involved in the crash in danger”.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jul/04/mark-cavendish-crash-tour-de-france-stage-four
It does look pretty reckless. Video at link.