The Tour de France was spared mass falls for a long time – until Saturday!
Mega crash on stage 14 from Annemasse to Morzine les Portes du Soleil! And that after just six kilometers. Drivers slipped on the rain-soaked road. 30 professionals of the peloton, which was still closed, fell.
Tour director Christian Preudhomme stopped the race
Spaniard Antonio Pedrero (31) was hit the hardest. The professional from the Movistar team had to give up the race and ended up in a paramedic’s carrycot. He was holding his arm, which appears to be broken.
Louis Meintjes (31/South Africa), captain of Georg Zimmermann’s (25) team Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, had to drop out as well – his collarbone was broken. His team confirmed that. In addition, the Colombian Esteban Chaves (33) could not continue.
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The stage was immediately stopped by tour director Christian Preudhomme (62). The drivers around the superstars Jonas Vingegaard (26) and Tadej Pogacar (24) chatted or sat on the curb. Some waited at the scene of the accident to bring their comrades back to the front.
At 1:57 p.m., the race finally resumed after a 27-minute interruption.
But the curse seemed to lie on this stage. France’s hope Romain Bardet (32) and Britain’s James Shaw (27) fell on a descent. Both had to give up as well.
Tadej Pogacar made himself comfortable on the curb
The stage to Morzine is the second of three mountain stages in a row before Monday’s second rest day. Leaders Vingegaard and Pogacar separate only nine seconds. Everyone is expecting a showdown in the mountains, where the Slovenian will get even closer to the Dane or even take the yellow jersey from him.
The weather cleared up in the minutes after the restart, which was neutralized for the first two kilometers, and the sun came out. Among other things, it goes over the more than 1600 meter high Col de la Ramaz and Col de Joux Plane.