12/21/24
July 06, 2015
Huge 20-Cyclist Crash Takes Out Leader at Tour de France: Twenty riders went down in a huge crash during Stage 3 of the Tour de France Monday, including the leader Fabian Cancellara, who fractured two vertebra in his back. Five of the 20 riders involved in the massive spill -- one of the worst in the history of the event -- could not continue. A Reuters photo shows Lotto-Jumbo rider Laurens ten Dam of the Netherlands lying in agony on the road suffering from a dislocated shoulder. The caption notes, "he got back on the bike and finished the stage after it was popped back into place."
From what I understand Sky forced the issue of neutralization by pushing the tempo while Cancellara was still trying to get back to the peleton. Race officials didn't take kindly to someone messing with the yellow jersey like that.
posted by deflated at 11:05 AM on July 07, 2015
One of the more cringe-worthy crashes I've seen in the last several years. There are no stretches of road where you can zone out for even a moment over the entire 3 week race. Still surprised by the race neutralization though.