Mark Cavendish's bid to take a record-breaking 35th stage win at the Tour de France was looking at risk on stage 1 today when the British rider was dropped early and was seen to throw up the fluids he was trying to consume.
On a hot day - and with the Tour starting with a much hillier stage than usual - Cavendish and the other sprinters were always set on surviving the opening weekend rather than competing for stage wins.
And though the Astana rider was definitely not the only sprinter out the back, he was dropped very early and looking distressed. His team mates surrounded him, encouraging him forward.
Riders from other teams were even pouring water over Cavendish at the back of the peloton before he was dropped; a clear sign he was in distress and that the riders around him were very aware of it.
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However, one of Cavendish's sports director's, Mark Renshaw, has told Belgian broadcaster Sporza the Isle of Man rider was struggling with the heat, and trying to keep down the fluids, rather than having fallen ill.
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At the time of writing, with about 90km to go on the opening stage, Cavendish was 10 minutes behind the peloton in a group, with a breakaway five minutes off the front. There were four more climbs to come on the 206km stage from Florence to Rimini.
More to come.
