Cervélo's Carlos Sastre fell in yesterday's miserable first stage of the Tour of California but carried on to finish over 13 minutes behind stage winner Francisco Mancebo.
The 2008 Tour de France winner said that, "After the feed zone, on a slight descent, another rider lost control of his bike by hitting one of the reflectors of the road – he went straight into me, breaking all the spokes of my front wheel. He fell to the ground and I 'skated' for about 50 metres."
The first stage of America's premier race was a torrid affair, reminiscent of last year's edition that pitted riders against the elements in brutal fashion. With Sastre already suffering from the flu as he headed into the event, he couldn't be blamed for wanting to retire from the race after his incident.
