Australian Richie Porte crashed out of the Tour de France on the ninth stage for a second straight year, this time with a suspected broken collarbone injury six miles into racing on Sunday.
Porte, who finished fifth in the 2016 Tour de France and was an overall podium contender these last two years, was seen sitting on the side of the road, gritting his teeth and and crossing his right arm over his chest.
There was a mass stoppage of riders, with at least one spectator down on the side of the narrow road. The crash came well before the Tour stage was to hit 15 arduous cobblestone sections totaling 22 miles.