Top Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen has gone to hospital for precautionary X-rays after a collision in the Tour Down Under.
McEwen was contesting the sprint finish on Tuesday at the end of stage one when he moved to the extreme right of the road.
There was a collision and he was left with a nasty-looking gash on his right elbow.
It was unclear initially whether McEwen had hit a photographer's camera or something hanging over the fence.
"I don't think I've broken a bone, but it really, really hurts," McEwen said.
"It (the elbow) blew up almost straight away and the pain is f***ing unbelievable."
The six-day Tour started with a 140km stage from the Adelaide suburb of Norwood to Mawson Lakes, north of the city.
McEwen won Sunday night's Cancer Council Classic, a 51km street race in the Adelaide parklands, and he was one of the favourites once stage one became a sprint finish.
German sprint ace Andre Greipel, the defending Tour champion, won the stage and Australian Stuart O'Grady was second on the provisional results.
Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong finished safely in the back of the field.
The cancer survivor and record seven-time Tour de France champion is making his much-anticipated professional cycling comeback in Adelaide.
