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Mark Cavendish breaks two ribs in heavy crash at Ghent Six Day (+ video)

Incident happened on final day of Belgian track meet

Mark Cavendish broke two ribs in a heavy crash on Sunday's final day of the Ghent Six Day track meeting in Belgium, it has been confirmed.

In a statement issued on Monday morning, his Deceuninck-Quick Step team said: 

Following his crash at the Ghent Six Day, Mark Cavendish was taken to the Ghent University Hospital where he was kept overnight.

Examinations showed that Mark has suffered two broken ribs on this left side and has a small pneumothorax, both of which have been treated with medication and he has been kept in the hospital for observation.

It is expected that Mark will be discharged either later today or tomorrow morning, and will then undergo a period of recuperation.

Everybody at Deceuninck - Quick-Step wishes Mark a speedy recovery.

According to Sporza, the crash happened when the rider Gerben Thijssen skidded over a wet patch during the team race, though he managed to stay upright.

Riders behind tried to avoid crashing themselves, but Lasse Norman Hansen came down, leaving Cavendish with nowhere to go.

The 36-year-old rolled down the track of the t’Kuipe velodrome and was treated by paramedics.

He was subsequently helped to his feet and waved and blew kisses at the crowd.

However, Sporza says that he was later taken away from the venue on a stretcher, and his Deceuninck-Quick Step team confirmed that he has been taken to hospital.

Cavendish and his partner Iljo Keisse had been lying in fourth position at the time the crash happened.

The 80th edition of the event was won by the Belgian pairing of Kenny De Ketele and Robbe Ghys.

Cavendish, who earlier this year won four stages of the Tour de France to equal Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 victories, is currently in negotiations with his team over a possible extension to his contract, which expires at the end of next month.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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2 comments

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matt_cycles | 2 years ago
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Not ideal for contract negotiations!

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mdavidford | 2 years ago
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Ouch - that's going to leave a few bruises.

Hell of an effort by whichever that was of De Ketele / Ghys to stay upright - almost deserves the victory by itself (even if it did end up being catastrophic for those behind).

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