Tour de France 2017: Peter Sagan leaves Tour after protest falls on deaf ears

World champion Sagan, riding for Bora-Hansgrohe, was disqualified after he appeared to elbow Cavendish at high speed during the sprint finish in Vittel, causing the British rider to crash into the barriers and taking down two other riders in the process.

The Slovakian was initially given a 30-second penalty and an 80-point deduction in the race for the green jersey but following representations from Cavendish's team, Dimension Data, his punishment was upgraded to full disqualification.

Sagan's team made a counter protest following the decision of Tour organisers - but the UCI said the Commissaires' Panel decision was not open to appeal, and Bora-Hansgrohe said their letter of protest was not answered.

Sagan said outside his hotel ahead of Stage 5: "Today I can just accept the decision of the jury but for sure I do not agree with them – because I think I didn't do something wrong in the sprint.

“It is very bad that Mark fell down and it is very important that he can recover well. I am sorry for that. But it was, as you see on the internet, it was a crazy sprint.

"It was not the first one like that or the last one like that. I wish that Mark recovers well, and that's it."

X-rays revealed Cavendish had broken his shoulder and he misses the rest of the Tour. Sagan, who won Stage 3, will also sit out the remainder of the race.

Sagan's behaviour was condemned by many, including Eurosport's own Coach, Brian Smith, who discussed the incident in detail with presenter Jonathan Edwards following Stage 4:

But Sagan also had the support of some big names in cycling - with the actions of stage winner Arnaud Demare also being scrutinised.