Around twenty riders lay stricken and needing attention shortly after a first mass fall on the Tour de France opening stage including four time champion Chris Froome.
Unlike the earlier crash caused by a fan, the second came as the peloton was going around 70kph some 5km from the finish line.
A first fall happened some 45km away from the finish line of stage one of the Tour between Brest and Landerneau.
A fan brandishing a sign brought down German rider Tony Martin who was riding near the head of the pack and close to excited roadside spectators.
The Jumbo-Visma rider fell, bringing down a huge number of fellow peloton members behind him. The crash held up the race for five minutes while bikes and bodies were untangled.
The race leader slowed down to allow the stragglers to catch up and despite the spectacular tangle only one rider, Germany’s Jasha Sutterlin of DSM, has so far had to pull out due to the accident.
Italian champion Sonny Colbrelli and Dutch rider Wout van Aert, who ran over Martin before falling head over heels, had both been amongst the favourites to win the first stage hilltop finish but were both badly delayed.
Welsh Ineos rider Geraint Thomas and defending champion Tadej Pogacar appeared unhurt, although last year’s runner-up Primoz Roglic looked to have fallen heavily.
Hordes of unmasked fans decked out in red-and-white polka dot caps and shirts lined the narrow Brittany country lanes for the 197km stage as France eases its Covid-19 restrictions.
World Cup News
-
FIFA World Cup
/ 1 week agoSaudi oil giant Aramco agrees major FIFA sponsorship deal
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Aramco and world football governing body FIFA on Thursday...
By AFP -
FIFA World Cup
/ 2 months agoSon scores but Thailand hold South Korea in World Cup qualifier
Son Heung-min scored but South Korea were held 1-1 at home by Thailand in...
By AFP -
FIFA World Cup
/ 2 months agoJapan-N. Korea World Cup game to stay in Pyongyang, JFA says
Japan’s World Cup qualifier against North Korea will be played in Pyongyang as planned...
By AFP -
FIFA World Cup
/ 2 months agoGerman ex-FA bosses on trial over World Cup tax evasion
Three German ex-top football officials went on trial on Monday in a 13.7-million-euro ($14.8...
By AFP