HTC-Columbia sprinter Peter Velits crashed and broke his collarbone in the finale of the Critérium du Dauphiné's second stage today in Bourg-Saint-Andeol. The 25 year old Slovakian was second place in the previous stage, and now looks like he will miss his opportunity to ride in the Tour de France next month.
Velits finished the stage before heading to the hospital for an x-ray in hopes that he would be able to continue the race.
"At the end of May, he fell in the Tour of Bavaria and broke a little bone in his wrist, enough to cause him to withdraw," explained the team's sports director Allan Peiper to AFP. "Even if he was fit again for the start of the Tour, he would be lacking in race practice."
The 2007 U-23 World road race champion will undergo more tests in the next couple of days to determine whether or not he will require surgery.