Cycling: Madness says Henderson

Greg Henderson rode on with his injuries in the Tour de France until he was forced to call it quits. Photo / EPA

With two broken ribs, stitches and painful bruising on his back, Greg Henderson finally succumbed yesterday to his injuries and withdrew from this year's Tour de France.

It means both New Zealand riders have pulled out of the famous race, with Henderson joining fellow Kiwi Jack Bauer who pulled out after a crash on the fifth stage.

Henderson described the first week as "just madness" as multiple crashes forced many riders to withdraw, including Tony Martin, who broke a collarbone in a crash in Friday's sixth stage and was forced to withdraw while wearing the race leader's yellow jersey.

Henderson had intended starting in yesterday's seventh stage but accepted there was little point, given his job is to line up Lotto-Soudal team-mate Andre Greipel for a sprint finish and he struggled to even remain in touch with the leaders.

"I had a really bad night last night and could hardly sleep," Henderson told Radio Sport.

"I couldn't really lie on my back or my side. My ribs were just aching and I came to the conclusion I was probably doing myself more damage. Getting out of bed was a struggle because I was in so much pain.

"I had given it three days of riding and we were coming into another sprint day. I'm here to help Andre in the sprints and I can't even get to the front of the bike race. I was just hanging on at the back. I was getting worse so decided it's better I go home and rest for two or three weeks and make sure the bones connect together.

"The problem is the bone is snapped completely. When I take a shallow breath, it's OK but when I try to breathe deeply, the bones are separating from each other and not knitting together so they are not getting a chance to heal.

"I can't get enough oxygen to my muscles and I was being dropped on sections when I shouldn't be dropped. I have tried and tried and there's only so much I can do."

Henderson's team had expected him to pull out immediately after crashing earlier in the week, and had put his bike on the car after seeing him in agony on the ground.

Few expected him to start the following day after spending time in hospital, especially as they were about to endure a bone-jarring day on cobblestones.

He will return to his base in Spain to recuperate but it hasn't dampened his enthusiasm to be involved in next year's Tour.

This year's race is panning out perfectly so far for British rider Chris Froome. With the tough mountain stages still to come - starting with the Pyrenees next week - the 2013 champion is in a strong position and leads two-time champion Alberto Contador by 36 seconds, defending champion Vincenzo Nibali by 1m 38s and Nairo Quintana, the 2013 runner-up, by 1m 56s.

Mark Cavendish won a sprint finish yesterday for his 26th career Tour stage victory - his first since 2013 after also crashing out last year - and dedicated his win to his Etixx-Quick Step team-mate Martin.

The day was also marked by the first doping case as Italian rider Luca Paolini was thrown out after testing positive for cocaine.