Tyler Farrar after crash with Allan Peiper, Tour de France 2012, stage five

Tyler Farrar suffered through his fourth crash in six days at the Tour de France today.

The 28-year-old crossed the finish line of the fifth stage in Saint-Quentin solo, sporting skin abrasions and a miserable expression after hitting the tarmac within the final five kilometres.

The normally placid sprinter was fuming after the race and attemped to storm onto the Argos-Shimano bus to confront one of its riders who he blamed for the crash. 

Farrar crashed twice in stage three and was involved in yesterday's flat fourth stage carnage about 2.5km out from the finish line.

The Garmin-Sharp pro won his first career Tour de France stage on Independence Day last year, almost 12 months to the day, which doubles as his last individual victory.

In previous years Farrar has had the support of a lead-out train at the Tour but has only two helpers in South African road champion Robbie Hunter as well as David Millar this time with his team built around Giro d'Italia champion Ryder Hesjedal.

Farrar's victories this season have come in team time trials at the Tour of Qatar in February and the Giro in May. He finished second to Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) at Scheldeprijs in April and had recorded top five results at all of the stages races he started prior to that.

But lady lucky has seemingly turned on him in Grand Tours.

Farrar was forced to abandon the Giro after crashing heavily during the sixth stage suffering from several deep lacerations and a punctured blood vessel on the back of his left hand. The American, who spearheads the USA road team for the London Olympic Games, returned to racing at his national road titles at the end of May before competing at the Tour of Switzerland in June.

Garmin-Sharp sports director Allan Peiper said Farrar "should be coming more and more into shape" at the Tour but that was after the first two of his four crashes in France.

"He's won stages first, second and third week in Grand Tours before," Peiper had said at the end of the third stage in Boulogne-Sur-Mer.

"He crashed out of the Giro, unluckily, he had five days of racing between Roubaix and Switzerland so that's not a lot to tweak your form really. Switzerland was a base race and he's coming into this building to a peak so hopefully he'll be good in the next days."

German sprinter Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) won the fifth stage of the Tour today, his second consecutive victory, ahead of Australian Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) and JJ Haedo (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff).

Follow @SophieSmith86

Tour de France 2012: Latest news

Cavendish and Eisel expected to continue after stage four crash

Injury report: Tour stage four

Garmin-Sharp adjust Tour de France plans after injury problems

Sky down to eight after Siutsou crash

Kittel recovering from illness

Explaining the three kilometre rule

Sky's embarrassment of riches

Rogers back on form and backing Wiggins in the Tour

Martin to continue in Tour despite fractured wrist

Liquigas coach tips Sagan for future Grand Tour win

Cancellara's win lifts morale in RadioShack team

Tour de France 2012: Teams, riders, start list

Tour 2012: Who will win?

Tour de France 2012 provisional start list

Tour de France 2012 team list

Tour de France 2012: Stage reports

Stage five: Greipel wins again as Cavendish fades

Stage four: Greipel wins stage after Cavendish crashes

Stage three: Sagan runs away with it in Boulogne

Stage two: Cavendish takes 21st Tour stage victory

Stage one: Sagan wins at first attempt

Prologue: Cancellara wins, Wiggins second

Tour de France 2012: Comment, analysis, blogs

Analysis: How much time could Wiggins gain in Tour's time trials

CW's Tour de France podcasts

Blog: Tour presentation - chasing dreams and autographs

Comment: Cavendish the climber

Tour de France 2012: Photo galleries

Stage five by Graham Watson

Stage four by Graham Watson

Stage three by Graham Watson

Stage two by Andy Jones

Stage two by Graham Watson

Stage one by Graham Watson

Prologue photo gallery by Andy Jones

Prologue photo gallery by Roo Rowler

Prologue photo gallery by Graham Watson

Tour de France 2012: Team presentation

Sky and Rabobank Tour de France recce

Tour de France 2012: Live text coverage

Stage five live coverage

Stage four live coverage

Stage three live coverage

Cycling Weekly's live text coverage schedule

Tour de France 2012: TV schedule

ITV4 live schedule

British Eurosport live schedule

Tour de France 2012: Related links

Brits in the Tours: From Robinson to Cavendish

Brief history of the Tour de France

Tour de France 2011: Cycling Weekly's coverage index

1989: The Greatest Tour de France ever

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Contributor

Sophie Smith is an Australian journalist, broadcaster and author of Pain & Privilege: Inside Le Tour. She follows the WorldTour circuit, working for British, Australian and US press, and has covered 10 Tours de France.