OMNISPORT

Vincenzo Nibali suffered a broken collarbone as he crashed out of the Olympic men's road race, Team Italy's coach has confirmed.

Italy's Nibali looked set to live up to his billing as a medal candidate when he pulled clear together with Sergio Henao and Rafal Majka in the closing stages of the 237.5km route.

However, both Nibali and Henao crashed on the final descent, leaving Majka alone at the head of the field.

The Pole was then reeled in inside the final two kilometres and had to settle for bronze as the fast-finishing Greg Van Avermaet - a two-time stage winner in the Tour de France - edged out Denmark's Jakob Fuglsang to take gold.

Coach Davide Cassani tweeted: "Unfortunately [Nibali] has a broken collarbone. The first thing he said to me was: 'I feel sorry for the other guys'. Ours is a real team."

Reports have suggested that Nibali has already flown home to Italy to have surgery on his injury.