Once again, the 2021 Tour de France has been affected by a crash at the front of the peloton, with Ineos Grenadiers and Jumbo-Visma riders hitting the deck on stage 3.
Ineos co-leader Geraint Thomas was among those to crash, reportedly suffering a dislocated shoulder, while Jumbo's Robert Gesink was forced to quit the race as a result of his injuries.
The crash, which came just 37 kilometres into the 183 sprint stage from Lorient to Pontivy, came about after a touch of wheels at the front of the peloton. Thomas hit the deck first, and could be seen clutching his collarbone/shoulder area afterwards.
Gesink, meanwhile, had nowhere to go and somersaulted over Thomas. The Dutchman, a key domestique for race favourite Primož Roglič, abandoned the race soon afterwards, though his injuries have not yet been confirmed.
Tony Martin was also held up by the crash and waited for Gesink to be tended to before setting off again.
Walloon broadcaster RTBF reported that Thomas had suffered a dislocated shoulder in the crash, though that news has not yet been officially confirmed by his team.
Luke Rowe, Jonathan Castroviejo and Dylan Van Baarle dropped back and help Thomas return to the peloton, with the Welshman lying over two minutes down after the crash. Thomas made it back to the main group at 125 kilometres to go.
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Daniel Ostanek has been a staff writer at Cyclingnews since August 2019, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later part-time production editor. Before Cyclingnews, he was published in numerous publications around the cycling world, including Procycling, CyclingWeekly, CyclingTips, Cyclist, and Rouleur, among others. As well as reporting and writing news and features, Daniel runs the 'How to watch' content throughout the season.
Daniel has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, and has interviewed a number of the sport's biggest stars, including Egan Bernal, Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, Mark Cavendish, and Anna van der Breggen. Daniel rides a 2002 Landbouwkrediet Colnago C40 and his favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Vuelta a España.