Stage nine of the Tour de France was a hell of a watch – but there were also some savage injuries over the course of the day.
There were mountains that never seemed to end, there was rain on the road, and as a result, there were a lot of attempted breakaways, a lot of slippy descents, and unfortunately, a lot of high-profile crashes as well.
The biggest names to be forced down were Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas, who crashed out and broke his collarbone, and General Classification contenders Dan Martin and Richie Porte, with Porte slipping off road on a descent, being sent flying back on to the road, and taking out Martin as a result.
Thomas and Porte, who broke his pelvis when he went down in brutal fashion, have both been forced to abandon the race, while Martin was able to get back on the bike and launch a commendable comeback to roll over the finish line with Simon Yates and Nairo Quintana in the group of riders one-back from the winners.
Dan Martin’s team Quickstep-Floor tweeted this picture of Martin’s helmet after the race stage finished:
