Sam Bennett starts Tour de France stage two despite injuries from first stage crash

The Irishman picked a horribly damaged hand in a crash on the finishing straight of stage one to Utah Beach

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Sam Bennett has taken to the start of stage two of the 2016 Tour de France despite picking up some nasty injuries in a crash on the opening day.

The Irishman was taken down in a crash after riders collided with barriers coming into the final straight. Bennett said he was unable to react in time after a number of riders came down in front of him.

>>> Alberto Contador defiant despite first day crash at Tour de France

His Bora-Argon 18 team confirmed on Sunday morning that he would take to the start, having injured his hand quite badly, requiring stitches, but avoided any fractures.

The crash took place after Katusha rider Michael Morkov collided with a barrier, causing him to fall extremely heavily and snap his bike in pieces in the high-speed crash.

He too managed to walk away with no broken bones, as did Michael Matthews (Orica-BikeExchange), who fell behind Morkov along with Bennett.

Every rider has started the 183km second stage of the Tour to Cherbourg, despite a number of crashes earlier in the day which saw Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) and Brent Bookwalter (BMC) come down together in a crash, and Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe also hit the tarmac.