But with only 300 metres remaining, his dreams came to a sickening end as he crashed and dislocated his right shoulder in an unsuccessful attempt to force his way to the front of the peloton. 

Although there was some initial hope that the damage may be predominantly bruising, the injury worsened overnight and the 29-year-old was forced to withdraw from the three-week race before the start of yesterday's second stage. 

The Manxman will now have an MRI scan on a dislocated shoulder and torn ligaments, but it has been confirmed by his Omega Pharma-Quick-Step team that it is "very likely" he will require surgery, meaning he would be out of action for a number of weeks and would have no chance of competing in Glasgow. 

Mark Cavendish has been effectively ruled out of chasing a repeat of the Commonwealth Games gold medal he won, in the scratch race, at Melbourne 2006 ©Getty Images



"I've got to go and get an MRI to see if it needs surgery, chances are it probably does, and unfortunately I'm likely to be out for a few weeks," Cavendish admitted following his withdrawal yesterday.

"I'm devastated to be fair.

"I think anyone who crashes on the first day of the Tour de France is going to be disappointed.

"When I got on my bike after my crash yesterday it wasn't possible to hold my handlebars, and when I took my skinsuit off I saw there was something wrong with my shoulder.

"I held a bit of optimism that maybe it was just swelling and it would go down a bit, but it's actually worse, I can't move my arm."

The news will also be a major blow for the Isle of Man as Cavendish, who competed at Delhi 2010 four years after his gold medal winning performance at Melbourne 2006, was the leading member of the self-governing British Crown Dependency's largest ever squad for a Commonwealth Games. 

In his absence, fellow cyclist Peter Kennaugh, who followed his London 2012 team pursuit gold medal with a strong performance in the 2013 Tour in support of eventual winner Chris Froome, will be the leading Manx hope in a 46-strong team. 

London 2012 Olympic champion Peter Kennaugh is set to replace Mark Cavendish as the highest profile name in the Isle of Man squad for Glasgow 2014 ©Getty Images



After an injury-disrupted early part to the season, Kennaugh was not selected for this year's Team Sky Tour squad, but underlined his return to form by winning the road race title at the British National Championships in Abergavenny last month. 

Isle of Man athletes will take part in athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, lawn bowls, shooting, swimming and triathlon during the Games in Glasgow, due to take place  from July 23 to August 3.