Mark Cavendish abandons Six Days of Ghent on final day after hard crash

Mark Cavendish was forced to abandon the Six Days of Ghent after a hard crash on the final day of competition.

The Manxman had paired up with Deceuninck - Quick-Step team-mate Iljo Keisse for the track tournament and were placed fourth heading into the final day of competition, having lost a couple of laps to leaders Michael Mørkøv and Lasse Norman Hansen as well as the second and third place duos of Kenny De Ketele/Robbe Ghys and Jasper De Buyst/Roger Kluge.

The incident occurred after Kenny De Ketele had swerved up the track, taking Lasse Norman Hansen's wheel, the Dane tumbling to the floor and Cavendish then unseated after going into the back of him.

The British sprinter collided in a heap of bikes before rolling down the incline.

Hansen was fortunate enough to get back up fairly quickly after the incident but Cavendish required medical attention, the racing subsequently stopped for more than half an hour while he received treatment and the track was also patched up.

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Once able to, Cavendish thanked the audience in the Kuipke velodrome and received a big round of applause, looking to be in pain as he walked away.

The crash occurred in the final race of the competition, Keisse continuing solo, Hansen returning to the race alongside Mørkøv but the Danes now blunted. De Ketele and Ghys had won the two races prior to the final event and were tied on points with the Danes heading into the last race.

It was instead Roger Kluge and Jasper De Buyst who would take the fight to De Ketele and Ghys, but with an advantage of more than 60 points, it would be De Ketele and Ghys to emerge victorious and claim the overall win.

For De Ketele it was the perfect send-off as the Belgian track cyclist retires now retires from racing, having also competed on the road for Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise for the past decade.