Downing downed on stage 4

British road race champion Russell Downing was one of several fallers on yesterday's stage. The Recycling.co.uk rider hit the deck early on but was able to remount and get back to the peloton. "Someone just come across me," he told Cyclingnews after the stage. "I was in line on the inside and someone pulled him on top of me. The kerbs just came out a bit and I think he swung into the bunch. He clipped my handlebars and that forced me into a speed wobble. I was banging on the kerb, staying upright, and then the kerbs disappeared and I went down."

"It was just before the first climb. The doctor was cleaning me up and then I got back onto the back of the team cars at the bottom of the climb. So I just climbed it in the convoy, holding on to my position, and then got back on over the top."

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