11 Jul 2013

Cavendish escapes punishment after crash

5:19 am on 11 July 2013

The high profile British cyclist Mark Cavendish has escaped punishment after appearing to have caused a crash just short of the finish line of stage 10 on the Tour de France.

The Dutch rider Tom Veelers had slowed down after leading out the stage winner Marcel Kittel in a dramatic final sprint when the Isle of Mann rider barged into him and he crashed heavily, lucky to escape with superficial injuries.

The New Zealand rider Greg Henderson, who was in the leading bunch, maintained Cavendish had completely knocked Vellers off his bike unnecessarily.

Cavendish took third place on the 197-kilometre stage.