BMC got their Tour of Belgium off to a bad start after Stephen Cummings crashed out of the first stage with a broken elbow. Later Philippe Gilbert went on the attack to try to score bonus seconds in an intermediate sprint but his efforts were all in vain.

Stephen Cummings of the BMC Racing Team broke his left elbow Wednesday when he crashed with about 20 kilometers to go in the opening stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour.Cummings was riding at the back of the peloton and in the process of discarding an bottle when he suddenly lost control and tumbled onto the pavement.

BMC Racing Team Doctor Dario Spinelli said X-rays confirmed a small fracture in Cummings's left elbow. The winner of the Tour Méditerranéen and runner-up at the Dubai Tour also has a contusion to his left hip, Spinelli said.

Minutes before Cummings's crash, teammate Philippe Gilbert had bridged to a three-man breakaway that had led by three-and-a-half minutes.

"It was a nervous and fast race and on the local lap it was dangerous," Gilbert said. "I wanted to anticipate with my attack and asked Thor Hushovd, as he is our sprinter. But Lotto brought us back to the peloton. This attack would not make it to the finish, but the ambition was to gain some seconds."

Cummings was not the only BMC Racing Team rider to go down in the 173.6-km race. Silvan Dillier was involved in a pile-up with seven kilometers left, but was not seriously hurt. Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) took the win ahead of German national road champion André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) and Theo Bos (Belkin Pro Cycling Team).