VITTEL, France (AP) — Arnaud Demare gave the host country a long-awaited sprint win on stage four of the Tour de France on Tuesday after Mark Cavendish was forced into the barriers, resulting in a nasty crash.
Overhead video appeared to show world champion Peter Sagan bumping into Cavendish, who was squeezed against the barriers to his right. Cavendish slammed into the barriers and two other riders plowed over the British sprint specialist, a winner of 30 Tour stages.
A medical team quickly ran out to treat Cavendish, jogging into the oncoming stream of riders to reach him.
Sagan crossed second and Alexander Kristoff finished third.
There was another crash earlier that delayed Tour leader Geraint Thomas, but the Welshman retained the yellow jersey since it happened in the neutral zone near the stage finish.
Thomas leads Sagan by seven seconds, with Chris Froome third.
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