Chris Froome caught up in nasty crash on stage one of the Tour de France 2021, loses 14 minutes
The four-time winner is making his Tour comeback this year and was involved in a huge pile-up before the finale


The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Chris Froome was caught in a nasty crash with 7.5km to go on stage one of the Tour de France 2021, losing 14 minutes as he battled on to eventually cross the finish line.
Froome was one of the dozens of riders caught in a huge fall on the opening day, TV cameras capturing the four-time winner on the ground, assessing his condition before remounting and finishing the stage alongside Israel Start-Up Nation team-mate Omer Goldstein.
The crash occurred just before the final climb to Landerneau, the steep gradients at the start of the ascent causing further splits in the field, the peloton arriving at the finish in dribs and drabs behind stage winner and first yellow jersey of this year's race, Julian Alaphilippe.
"Not how I planned for today to go but I managed to finish," Froome tweeted after the stage. "Off for some scans I will update this evening. I hope everyone else who came down is okay."
Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) also lost more than five minutes, while Valverde's team leader Miguel Ángel López lost nearly two minutes alongside Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma).
Primož Roglič, Tadej Pogačar and Geraint Thomas all finished in the top 10 on the same time, although Roglič's third-place finish gave him four bonus seconds. Richard Carapaz led the next group on the road over the line five second behind Thomas as early gaps in the general classification emerged.
Stage one saw three riders fail to finish after the crash-marred day, before the big one in the finale a spectator's sign brought down Jumbo-Visma's Tony Martin with a domino effect then ensuing.
DSM's Jasha Sütterlin was the first abandon after that incident, followed by Groupama-FDJ's Ignatas Konovalovas and B&B Hotels Cyril Lemoine.
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
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
-
-
Gallery: The cyclocross race that existed before gravel was cool
The annual Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross race traverses the Yorkshire Dales annually - here's our gallery from Britain's toughest race
By Michelle Arthurs-Brennan Published
-
Is Chris Froome - in 2023 - a professional cyclist, or an influencer?
The seven-time Grand Tour winner hasn't raced since July, but has taken to being interesting on social media
By Adam Becket Published
-
Is Chris Froome - in 2023 - a professional cyclist, or an influencer?
The seven-time Grand Tour winner hasn't raced since July, but has taken to being interesting on social media
By Adam Becket Published
-
In memoriam: Tadej Pogačar's white jersey domination
After 81 days in the young rider's jersey at Grand Tours, the Slovenian has grown up
By Adam Becket Published
-
'They race like juniors': How men's pro cycling is getting wilder and races refuse to slow down
Racing from the gun during a three week Grand Tour is a big ask for even the best and the strongest. Is this the new cycling?
By Adam Becket Published
-
Remco Evenepoel hopes to 'steal' Jonas Vingegaard's secrets at Vuelta a España as he looks to 2024 Tour de France
Belgian aiming for second Vuelta a España triumph over the next three weeks, but faces stiff opposition
By Tom Davidson Published
-
WorldTour teams have an extra three years to halve carbon emissions before losing license - UCI clarifies
A carbon emissions tracker has been introduced and it is mandatory for all stakeholders to use it
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
‘I really like city street racing’ - Tadej Pogačar on the ‘enjoyable’ World Championships road race course
Slovenian two-time Tour de France winner took bronze behind rainbow jersey winner Mathieu van der Poel
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Opinion: Mark Cavendish Netflix documentary shows why Tour de France return is in doubt
Manxman's route out of depression shows what's really important
By Vern Pitt Published
-
UCI carried out 997 checks for motor doping at Tour de France, all came back negative
837 tests carried out at stage start using magnetic tablets, 160 at stage finishes using either backscatter or x-ray transmission technology
By Tom Thewlis Published