Alex Dowsett forced to withdraw from Tour de France

Alex Dowsett has been forced to bring his debut campaign in the Tour de France to a premature end.

The 26-year-old, who is the British time-trial champion, was unable to recover from a crash that occurred on stage four of the race.

Despite battling on gamely, the former world hour record holder made the decision to withdraw after continuing to suffer with an elbow injury.

Spain's Joaquim Rodriguez won stage 12 on Thursday, while Chris Froome was able to retain the yellow jersey.