Cav injured on opening Abu Dhabi Tour stage

Manx Missile out of the five-day race

An early crash on the opening stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour has forced Mark Cavendish to abandon the tour.

The Manxman crashed in the neutral zone, taking 'an early tumble', according to his team's Twitter feed.

It says he fell on the shoulder which he broke last year, suffering whiplash and a concussion in the process.

Cavendish got up and chased back to the peloton, but had to pull out soon after.

Team Dimension Data has issued an update, and says due to the concussion, they were not willing to risk rider safety.

Therefore, the call was made for Cav to stop the race.