World road race champion Mark Cavendish is expected to be able to start the Tour of Oman as planned, with his crash on today’s final stage of the Tour of Qatar not leading to any serious injuries.
The fall, which looked dramatic on television but fortunately left him only with bruising and road rash, happened inside the final 300 metres of the 120 kilometre stage to Doha Corniche. Cavendish was on the wheel of Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda), and went to make a move up the right side just as Roger Kluge (Project 1t4i) pulled alongside him.
Realising there was nowhere to go at that point, the Sky Procycling rider flicked back to his left, but at the same moment Farrar had to swing to the right to avoid FDJ BigMat rider Mickaël Delage. He had driven the pace for stage winner Arnaud Démare, had run out of steam and was drifting back through the head of the bunch.
Cavendish hit Farrar’s back wheel and while he tried to stay upright, he spilled to the ground. Farnese Vini rider Andrea Guardini had been on his wheel but managed to avoid him, as did the other riders.
Afterwards, directeur sportif Steven de Jongh explained what happened and confirmed that the world champion wasn’t badly hurt. “Cav touched the back wheel of Farrar during the sprint. He wanted to go but Kluge came across and he hesitated a bit,” he said on the team website. “He wanted to go again but then they touched wheels with Farrar and went down.
“It’s a pity to finish the race that way but luckily we have two wins and he has nothing broken so we can move onto Oman now.”
While Cavendish and the team wanted to pick up another victory today, the campaign has been a successful one. It’s the opening race of the year for the sprinter and he has already shown he is in good form. Ditto for his team, which supported him well.
“We’ve have two guys in the top ten with Cav and Flecha [Flecha third, Cavendish sixth – ed.] and have won two stages so it's been pretty good race for the team overall,” said a satisfied De Jongh.
Belgian rider Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma Quick Step) ran out as final overall winner.