Tour de France 2021 crash: Chris Froome hurt as two huge pile-ups marr opening stage
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Four-time champion Chris Froome was hurt as two huge crashes marred the opening stage of the 2021 Tour de France.
Julian Alaphilippe, bearing his own bloodied knee, took the first yellow jersey after breaking away on the run-in to Landerneau.
The world champion attacked early on the decisive climb of the Cote de la Fosse aux Loups and stayed away to win with relative ease from Michael Matthews at the end of the 198km stage from Brest.
While home favourite Alaphilippe’s victory will be cause for celebration in France, there will also be some serious questions asked of authorities after ugly scenes on the road.
The first pile-up was caused by an overzealous fan holding a cardboard sign out into the road without looking as the peloton rode past, causing German rider Tony Martin to go down and bringing another 30 or 40 with him.
Martin’s Jumbo-Visma teammate Primoz Roglic, Ineos Grenadiers’ Tao Geoghegan Hart, as well as Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez, were among the leading riders held up.
Belgian Wout van Aert, one of the favourites for the stage win, was also slowed down but made it back to the main bunch after a long effort.
German Jasha Suetterlin of Team DSM was the first rider to abandon the race after being sent to the ground by the crash.
It took almost a full 25 kilometres for a bloodied and bruised peloton to fully regroup, but they would soon be split again as another crash ripped through the group with eight kilometres to go, leaving Froome struggling to get back to his feet – though he did eventually ride in.
Froome’s form has dropped off significantly since he suffered a huge crash in 2019 which left him with a broken leg, ribs, an elbow and various vertebrae. He entered this year’s Tour with a new team, Israel Start-Up Nation, but not as it’s leader, having acknowledged that he would not be strong enough to compete for the yellow jersey. Having suffered another knock, there will be some doubt whether he can finish this most gruelling of races.