ROUEN, France -- On the day he was confirmed as the British team leader for the Olympic road race, star sprinter Mark Cavendish hit the ground heavily at the Tour de France in a crash that could have ruined his entire season. cheap jerseys from china . Racing the Tour as part of his preparations for the Olympic Games, Cavendish fell about 2.5 kilometres from the finish of the fourth stage Wednesday but was lucky enough to escape with just bruises and scratches. The Manxman has made clear that his main goal this season is to win Olympic gold in London in front of his home crowd. "Its disappointing and worrying when you see lads going down," Sky manager Dave Brailsford said. "Mark is okay. He has injuries but he is okay. Its nothing serious, well discuss it tonight." Cavendish, winner of Mondays stage in impressive fashion, fell in the build-up to the sprint at the end of the days racing. His German rival Andre Greipel of Lotto-Belissol went on to win the stage. Robbie Hunter (Garmin-Sharp) caused the pile-up, slipping onto the road as Cavendish went down with him. The crash happened in the last three kilometres of the trek from Abbeville to Rouen, meaning that Cavendish was awarded the same time as Greipel despite crossing the line more than four minutes behind with his teammate Bernhard Eisel. "Bernie got quite a big gash above his eye, which was quite nasty," Brailsford said. "Hes having stitches - that will be sore. Marks more superficial, just skin." With his world champion rainbow jersey in shreds, Cavendish looked infuriated as he returned to his bus and did not give interviews. "I cant repeat what he said when they came into the bus," Brailsford said. An official race medical report said Cavendish sustained several scratches and a cut on a finger and that Eisel had stitches for the cut on his forehead. Cavendishs girlfriend was quick to react on her Twitter feed, hinting that the Sky team should take better care of the rider. "Cavendish is down, and that is what happens when you take a man that is so harshly marked to the Tour without protection," Peta Todd said. "This is peoples lives. If you havent got the intention of making sure you have the team to look after the World Champ. Dont just wing it. He is just a man." This years edition of the Sky team is focused on Bradley Wiggins ambition to win the yellow jersey leaving Cavendish short of support from his usual lead-out train in the sprints. Brailsford said Cavendishs form will be assessed carefully. "After a crash like that, its high emotion," Brailsford said. "And when you hit the ground that fast, it always shakes you up, it builds up adrenalin. Well let the adrenalin go and see where we are later. Now he is OK." cheap china jerseys . Gretzky was asked if he believes Montreal Canadiens defenceman PK Subban should be on Canadas blueline in February at the Sochi Olympics. "Im not going to get in the middle of that controversy because Stevie Yzerman obviously knows what hes doing, he won a gold medal in 2010," said Gretzky. cheap jerseys china . Thea Culley, Brienne Stairs and Stephanie Jameson scored for the Canadians (1-1-3), who were already out of contention for a London Olympic berth in the six-country tournament.MILWAUKEE -- Up-tempo Oregon ran into a big red speed bump. Joseph Young scored 29 points but missed a potential game-tying 3 from the wing with 13 seconds left, and the Ducks watched their 12-point halftime lead crumble in an 85-77 loss Saturday night to gritty Wisconsin. Ben Brust hit a 3-pointer with 1:07 left for the second-seeded Badgers on a possession saved twice by offensive rebounds. It gave Wisconsin (28-7) the lead for good in a clash of styles played before a boisterous pro-Badgers crowd at the anything-but-neutral Bradley Center. "The momentum switched there pretty quick. It kind of boiled down to us not getting stops that we needed to, and then with the one-point lead late, the ability to get a big rebound," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. Traevon Jackson followed Brusts 3 with three free throws, but missed one with 21 seconds left to give the seventh-seeded Ducks (24-10) one more chance to tie trailing by three. Oregon gave it to Young, who had made big shots all night. Couldnt make one more, and the Badgers sealed it at the foul line. "That shot he took, no one questioned it," Oregons Richard Amardi said about Young. "It looked good. Unfortunately it just didnt go it in when we wanted it." The red-clad fans erupted into a deafening roar. Their beloved Badgers are back in the NCAA regional semifinals for the first time since 2012. They will play Baylor or Creighton in Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday. "We knew they were going to come out and be emotional," Altman said. "We just didnt handle it very well. Gave up easy baskets and didnt get the stops we needed at all." Frank Kaminsky led the way for Wisconsin with 19 points, Jackson finished with 16 and Brust had 12. Left off-kilter by the Ducks transition game early, the Badgers hustled back in the second half to answer the Oregon charge. After 19 points on the break in the first half, Oregon had nothing in transition after halftime. "Do you know how many fast-break points they got in the second half? Zero," coach Bo Ryan said. cheap nfl jerseys. "Oregon, one of the quickest teams in the country, so youve got to give the players a heckuva lot of credit." That pace played more their liking. Buckets in the lane by Kaminsky, a jump-shooting 7-footer, and coach Bo Ryans gritty guards set the tone inside, and later helped open up the perimeter. As had often happened during the night, Young had an answer. His 3 from the wing with 2:50 left to give Oregon a 75-74 lead. The Badgers grabbed offensive rebounds on their next possession. Off a timeout, Ryan re-inserted Brust, who was saddled with four fouls. The senior delivered in a huge spot with a 3 following an offensive rebound by Sam Dekker. Young couldnt deliver one last time. "Do whatever it takes to not make it your final game," Brust said. Jason Calliste had 20 points for Oregon, which set the tone early with in-your-face defence and an aggressive offence. Wisconsin found its groove by attacking the basket, a plan that has worked all year long when the team has been having problems. Dekker added 12 points and eight rebounds in another typically balanced effort. In the first half, it was Oregon dictating tempo in setting a breakneck pace. The Ducks quieted the sea of fans in a hurry, attacking on offence at nearly every opportunity and flustering Wisconsin. The frustration peaked when the Badgers bench was whistled for a technical foul near the end of the first half after arguing a call. Oregon pounced in the first 20 minutes. Sometimes it was Calliste driving to the bucket to draw fouls. Other times it was Young hitting mid-range jumpers. Then Wisconsin found its way in the second half. "To be able to handle that smack in the face in the first half and come back and deliver one of our own says a lot about this group," Ryan said. Despite the disappointing ending, Oregon had regrouped quite well since a midseason stretch of eight losses in 10 games. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '
