Cavendish withdrawn for rude gesture
Saturday, 1 May 2010 10:28Mark Cavendish was last night withdrawn from the Tour de Romandie by his HTC-Columbia team following the two-fingered salute which accompanied his second win of the season.
The 24-year-old from the Isle of Man celebrated victory on stage two of the Swiss race on Thursday with the gesture, which he justified by saying: 'I did it to say I'm back'.
The action could be met with a suspension from the world governing body, the UCI.
However, such a scenario appears unlikely after he was yesterday fined by race officials.
He also issued a public apology, before being withdrawn from the event, which finishes tomorrow.
Cavendish's HTC-Columbia team issued a statement, which read: 'High Road Sports has taken Mark Cavendish out of the Tour de Romandie at the conclusion of today's stage, as a result of his inappropriate actions after winning stage two of the race on Thursday.
'High Road Sports agrees with the individual fine issued by the UCI commissaries today and in addition will direct payment of Cavendish's prize money from his stage win to the international charity Right To Play.'
Cavendish has endured a slow start to 2010 after being plagued by off-season dental problems.
