• Tour de France Stage Seven, Le Mans to Chateauroux

Wiggins' Tour over after painful collision

ESPN staff
July 8, 2011
Bradley Wiggins is out of the Tour de France © PA Photos
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Bradley Wiggins' dreams of Tour de France glory were ended on Friday, after he suffered a broken collarbone that could also seriously affect his preparation for next year's Olympic Games in London.

The Team Sky Rider was caught up in a collision at the back of the peloton with about 37km remaining in the seventh stage between Le Mans and Chateauroux, resulting in a fall that caused the injury.

Fellow Brit Mark Cavendish won the stage - just as he did to claim his first in the Tour back in 2008. The HTC-Highroad sprinter saw off Alessandro Petacchi and Andre Greipel to claim his 17th career stage victory in the event, after being perfectly launched towards the line by his team-mates.

"Out of all the stages, bar Paris, this is the one I wanted," Cavendish said afterwards. "The camera shots speak for themselves, the team were absolutely incredible [in setting him up for the line]."

The 218-kilometre stage was uneventful for much of the five-and-a-half hour ride, with four riders - Perez Urtasun, Mickael Delage, Gianni Meersman and Yannick Talabardon - opening up a lead of nearly eight minutes early on, before gradually seeing it eroded over the remainder of the ride.

Indeed, Wiggins' troubles were the first notable moment of the closing stages. His team-mates hung back to wait for him to remount his bike but, after receiving medical attention as he clutched his left forearm, his team-mates were ordered to remount as the Englishman had little choice but to see his Tour abandoned.

The news comes as a massive blow to Team Sky, who only celebrated their first stage win in the Tour on Thursday thanks to Edvald Boasson Hagen - another rider involved in the collision.

Dave Brailsford's team had hoped Wiggins would be able to finish on the podium come the end of the event, after he finished fourth in 2009, but will now have to focus on other goals - especially after both Boasson Hagen and Geraint Thomas lost enough time to send them hurtling down the general classification.

The Manx rider was shocked to hear the news of Wiggins' withdrawal.

"I'm gutted for him," Cavendish said. "He is in the form of his life. I've never seen him ride like this, and I'm gutted for him."

The stage's only intermediate sprint, with about 22km remaining, was won by Delage from Meersman and Talabardon - taking the points on offer only a matter of minutes before the rest of the peloton finally caught up to them. Cavendish, leading the chasing pack, finished fifth.

From there the leading group were overhauled, with Cavendish able to rest as his team-mates moved into position at the head of the peloton - timing things perfectly to allow their man to clinch his second stage victory of the 2011 Tour.

Earlier in the stage, Quick Step rider Tom Boonen became the sixth rider to abandon the Tour. The Belgian has six stage victories on his resume, but pulled up with around 125km still to go in the stage - failing to even match his efforts last year, where he managed to continue until stage 15.

Tour de France Stage Seven, Le Mans to Chateauroux:
1. Mark Cavendish (GB) HTC-Highroad - 5:38:53
2. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-ISD - Same time
3. Andre Greipel (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto - Same time
4. Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM - Same time
5. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ - Same time
6. Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team - Same time
7. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo - Same time
8. Sebastien Turgot (Fra) Team Europcar - Same time
9. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Movistar - Same time
10. Sebastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale - Same time

General classification after Stage Seven:
1. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Garmin-Cervelo 28:29:27
2. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing - at one second
3. Frank Schleck (Lux) Team Leopard-Trek - at four seconds
4. David Millar (GB) Team Garmin-Cervelo - at eight seconds
5. Andreas Kloden (Ger) Team Radioshack - at ten seconds
6. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Leopard-Trek - at 12 seconds
7. Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Leopard-Trek - at 12 seconds
8. Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Highroad - at 13 seconds
9. Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad - at 13 seconds
10. Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling - at 20 seconds
18. Nicolas Roche (RoI), AG2r La Mondiale - at one minute, 12 seconds
24. Alberto Contador (Spa) Saxo-Bank - at one minute, 42 seconds
38. Geraint Thomas (GB) Team Sky - at three minutes, 18 seconds
59. Mark Cavendish (GB) HTC-Highroad - at 6 minutes, 6 seconds

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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