Mark Cavendish has abandoned the Abu Dhabi Tour after he crashed in the neutralised zone on Stage 1.

Cycling News reported the Manx Missile fell shortly after the race rolled out of Madinat Zayed, before the race had even officially started, in an incident which is believed to have been caused when several riders were forced to slam on their brakes and fell when the race director’s vehicle broke sharply in front of them.

Although the Team Dimension Data rider was able to remount and re-join the peloton before the official start, he wheeled to a halt again at the roadside after just five kilometres and abandoned the race.

Dimension Data confirmed that Cavendish fell on the same shoulder that he fractured in the heavy crash with Peter Sagan that forced him to abandon the 2017 Tour de France on Stage 4.

The full extent of the injury and its impact on the rest of his early-season programme is not yet clear, with Dimension Data set to provide further information after Cavendish has undergone a medical check-up.

The Abu Dhabi Tour – where the 32-year-old Cavendish has won three previous stages – was to be his third race of the 2018 season after he kicked off his campaign with a stage win at the Dubai Tour and then raced the Tour of Oman last week.