Defending champion Chris Froome has crashed out of the Tour de France after falling twice on a wet and treacherous stage five.
The second time, the 29-year-old was visibly injured and was seen shaking his head and holding his right arm before climbing into a Sky team car.
That signalled the end of his attempt to retain the yellow jersey he won in Paris last year.
The last time a reigning champion had been forced to abandon the Tour was in 1980 when Frenchman Bernard Hinault quit due to a knee injury, although that wasn’t from a crash.
Wednesday’s fifth stage topped off a nightmare two days for the Kenyan-born Briton, who also came off his bike on Tuesday’s fourth stage.
After his first fall, Froome was seen with ripped jersey and shorts down his right hand side, trying to fix a mechanical problem by the side of the road.
Blood and grazing could also be seen on his hip through a rip in his shorts.
The second time he went down, along with a teammate, Froome looked visibly distressed.
He stood by the side of the road holding his right arm across his body and making no attempt to get up and ride on.
When he started shaking his head, it was clear his race was over and he was soon bundled into the safety of a team car.
Incredibly, on a stage where the seven cobbled sections totalling 13km had been the major concern for riders, Froome crashed out before they even reached the first.
His was one of a great number of falls as potential winners Alejandro Valverde and Tejay Van Garderen also went down before the cobbles.
That cost them dearly as they were caught behind a split in the main peloton from the first set of cobbles and forced to chase hard to get back in contact.
The 152.km stage from Ypres, Belgium to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, proved even more hazardous than anticipated.
If the cobbles themselves weren’t tricky enough, driving rain overnight and into Wednesday made them so dangerous that two of the original nine sections had to be removed from the course.
Albo
Guest
But throws it wide open for some new faces to compete for the spoils ! Could end up one of the best Tours yet with more now encouraged to having a go at the GC challenge (eg Richie Porte ? TJ Van Garderen, Michael Kwiatkowski, Andrew Talansky , Alejandro Valverde, Bauke Mollema, Peter Sagan ???, along with the more likely favourites Nibali & Contador ) And even the sprinters are close, despite Kittel on top early., with Greipel, Kristoff, Sagan and Renshaw never far away !
damo
Guest
Lol ! Froome probably would have had some tyre tracks over his back too ! I jest though, hitting the deck hurts & I hope he is ok, these guys are pretty tough, so for him to pull out means he is most likely in a bad way, especially after recent falls.
Albo
Guest
If Wiggins had been on the team, Froome might have hit the deck ten times this week !
damo
Guest
He probably did too, although it would also vindicate the decision not to select him. Hopefully Porte can now grasp the chance to lead the team & give the GC a real shake.
Da Spoon
Guest
The quality of the GC and sprints competition is much diminished. Like a tennis tournament without Rafa and Novak. Porte needs to take advantage of the GC situation and prove he is a worthy successor to Froome and vindicate the decision to leave out wiggins. He may never get a better chance.
Aljay
Guest
Great article. But who won?
kippa
Guest
In a side note sir bradley wiggins has fallen off his couch from laughing too hard.