Aussie causes huge crash during Tour of Poland sprint finish

Australian Caleb Ewan was at the centre of a huge pile-up during the sprint finish on Stage 2 of the Tour of Poland.

The Orica-GreenEDGE rider was positioned near the front of the pack as the sprinters attacked the final metres of the stage before the mayhem struck.

After bumping shoulders with Lampre’s Sacha Modolo, the 21-year-old Ewan lost balance and hit the ground hard, causing a pile-up that left only nine riders ahead of the carnage and able to contest the sprint to the finish.

With tight crowd barriers in place on either side of the road and little room to manoeuvre around the crash, dozens of riders were unable to avoid joining the tangle of bodies and bicycles.

As the crash occurred in the final three kilometres of the stage, all riders held up were awarded the same time as the stage winner, meaning Ewan remained in second position overall.

Marcel Kittel, one of the nine riders able to avoid the carnage, finished the stage in second place behind Matteo Pelucchi, retaining the yellow general classification jersey.