THE Tour de France is underway – but Mark Cavendish will play no more part of it.
The British sprinter was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a broken shoulder after crashing with Peter Sagan.
Why is Mark Cavendish not in the Tour de France?
It was during stage four when Cav was elbowed off of his bike by rival Peter Sagan with the finish line in sight.
The 31-year-old was barged by world champion Sagan against the advertising hoardings as he smacked against the tarmac in Vittel.
Sagan has since been disqualified for causing Cavendish to crash.
TOUR DE FRANCE 2017: RESULTS AND STANDINGS
He appeared to shoulder barge the Manx Missile as he opened up for his big final sprint.
Cavendish had been chasing Eddy Merckx’s record Tour de France stage wins.
The Belgian great Merckx had won 34 stages, with Cavendish on 30.
What other British cyclists remain?
Chris Froome – the favourite to win the tournament – is aiming for a three successive Tour de France triumphs.
Froome said: “To me, each Tour tells a different story. Every Tour is a different battle in terms of getting that Yellow Jersey and then trying to hold on to it.”
Simon Yates missed last year’s Tour because of a ban for testing positive for a substance from his inhaler.
Expect him to be challenging for top ten on general classification as well as mountain stage wins.
Welshman Geraint Thomas is at the peak of his career and big things are expected of him, even though he will have to support Froome in the mountains.
The 31-year-old could have challenged to win the Giro d’Italia but was wiped out by a police bike.
Steve Cummings is having a Indian Summer to his career in his mid 30s.
The Merseysider was an also-ran journeyman cyclists, till he won stages in 2015 and 2016 at the Tour.
How long does the Tour de France go on for?
The Tour started on July 3 and runs until July 23.
The riders will cover a total of 2,200 miles.
As always, the final stage will be in Paris.
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