Mark Cavendish suffers fall as crashes overshadow opening night of Ghent Six
Mark Cavendish suffered a worrying crash during the team time trial on the opening night of the Ghent Six Day.
Cavendish, who is competing alongside Iljo Keisse, crashed during the fourth event of the evening after his team-mate had completed the first part of the race with the Manxman racing the final stretch on the short and steep-banked track inside the famous old Kuipke Velodrome.
Having been released by team-mate Keisse, the local hero who has won seven editions of the Ghent Six, Cavendish took over in a dash for the line on the 166-metre track. However, as Cavendish neared the côte d'azur – the narrow strip below the measuring line – his front wheel appeared to slip before he skidded almost the length of the straight.
Though shaken, Cavendish wasted little time in getting to his feet before giving the packed velodrome a wave.
Despite organisers tweeting they were relieved to say he was "OK", Cavendish, who recently announced he would join Bahrain-Merida next year, was forced to sit out the remainder of the evening's races.
Even schrikken daarnet in de baanronde van de @zesdaagseGent . @MarkCavendish komt ten val, maar stapt gelukkig ongedeerd van de piste. Hij moet de eerste ploegkoers wel laten schieten. @IljoKeissepic.twitter.com/13643PSSKm
— AVS Televisie (@avstelevisie) November 12, 2019
Racing was ended prematurely after Gerben Thyssen, the 21-year-old Belgian who rides for Lotto-Soudal, crashed following a collision with Oliver Wulff Frederiksen, the 19-year-old Dane, during a super sprint.
After being attended to by medics on the track for around 15mins, Thyssen was taken to hospital with Het Laatste Nieuws reporting he was conscious.
"After his crash Gerben Thyssen is taken to the hospital," organisers tweeted. "The other riders are understandably affected by this event and at the request of the riders the further race program for today is stopped."
