There is still a chances that Nacer Bouhanni will start the Tour de France. Yesterday the sprinter crashed in the sprint at the French national championships and injured a rib.

Bouhanni feared that he has sustained a fracture. Yesterday the Frenchman tweeted that Tour participation was ruled out: "In any case the Tour comes too early," he wrote.

However, this morning X-rays have shown that there is no fracture and thus the door for a Tour start is still open. "I still hope to be present at the Tour start on Saturday," he tweeted this morning.

If he makes it in time, Bouhanni will be the Cofidis leader in the race. The team has selected the first 8 riders but have not confirmed the final rider yet.