CYCLING NEWS - Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka was dealt a massive blow even before racing truly got underway on stage 1 of the Abu Dhabi Tour.
British sprint king Mark Cavendish was involved in a crash in the neutral zone. It seemed the race director's car slowed suddenly as it led the peloton out of Madinat Zayed, the reaction in the peloton saw four riders, including the African team's Manxman, go down.
Unfortunately Cavendish had to abandon the Abu Dhabi Tour as a result of the crash.
"Mark sustained a concussion and a whiplash injury after his crash today. Due to the concussion, we were not willing to risk rider safety and the call was made for Mark to stop the race. A serious neck injury has been excluded in hospital. He currently has some concussive symptoms and neck pain, but is otherwise stable. We will monitor Mark’s condition closely going forward," Team Doctor Dr Adrian Rotunno said.
