Mark Cavendish involved in crash at Ronde van Limburg

It was the second occurrence in as many days, and it continued Cavendish's terrible luck. He also had a mechanical, which ended his hopes of competing for the victory at Heylen Vastgoed Heistse Pijl on Saturday, which was also won by De Lie.

"It all happened in the blink of an eye," said QuickStep - Alpha Vinyl Team in an update after their sprinter Mark Cavendish was involved in a late-race incident at the Ronde van Limburg on Monday. Cavendish was in an advantageous position to sprint for the win in the 202.6km race between Hasselt and Tongeren.

Cavendish survived the crash intact and completed the race in 96th position, but his absence meant that his team was unable to participate in the final sprint, which was won by Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Soudal).