ROUEN, France

The bell almost tolled for Mark Cavendish in the city of 100 bells.

The reigning world champion hit the tarmac in a highspeed pileup in the finale of Wednesday’s fourth stage of the Tour de France, a 133-mile trek across Normandy that ended in Rouen, known for the abundance of bell towers in its many medieval churches.

The British rider’s crash almost scuttled his hopes of Olympic glory in the London Games, but he managed to get back on his bike and roll in to the finish, banged up but safe.

A second stage win in this year’s race would have put Cavendish even with Lance Armstrong’s 22 career Tour stage wins. The crash highlighted Cavendish’s relative lack of protection on his team, with Sky riders focusing on Bradley Wiggins’ task of capturing the yellow jersey.

Cavendish is used to riding the Tour with teams dedicated to delivering him safely to the final 500 meters, where his nearly unequaled acceleration has helped him crush the field for the past four years on the Tour, nabbing 21 stage wins since 2008 and winning the green points jersey last year.

Just after Cavendish’s crash his girlfriend was quick to react on her Twitter feed, hinting that the Sky team should take better care of the rider.

With Cavendish out, Germany’s Andre Greipel led a final dash among the remaining top Tour de France sprinters to claim his second career stage win on the Tour.

Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara avoided the trouble and retained the overall lead for a fifth day after the trek alongside the English Channel from Abbeville to Rouen.