Mark Cavendish hit the deck in the most important sprint of his season when he hit Simon Gerrans on the finishing straight in the first stage of the Tour de France. Having hurt his shoulder, the Brit is a possible non-starter tomorrow and admits that he is to blame for the crash.

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team confirms that Mark Cavendish underwent further examination on his right shoulder after today's crash.

The imaging underlined ligament ruptures with an AC-joint dislocation, which causes him a lot of pain. A final decision on his participation in tomorrow's stage will be taken tomorrow morning.

"I'm gutted about the crash today" Cavendish said. "It was my fault. I'll personally apologise to Simon Gerrans as soon as I get the chance. In reality, I tried to find a gap that wasn't really there .I wanted to win today, I felt really strong and in a great position to contest the sprint thanks to the unbelievable efforts of my team. Sorry to all the fans that came out to support - it was truly incredible."