TOUR DE CARNAGE
ADAM Yates crashed for the second time in two days and two of his key helpers also hit the bitumen as Australia’s Mitchelton- Scott bore the brunt of another chaotic day at the Tour de France.
With riders spooked by the Stage 1 carnage all fighting to be at the front for the 182.5km Stage 2 mission to La Roche- sur- Yon, the run home produced more crashes.
Three- time world champion Peter Sagan won the stage, proving too strong for Sonny Colbrelli and Arnaud Demare on another uphill rise to the line to snatch the yellow jersey.
But the drama again unfolded back down the road. Title contender Yates flipped over the handlebars with 30km remaining and took skin off his elbow before Luke Durbridge came down hard and was left with blood pouring down both legs.
Their teammate Daryl Impey was also taken out in a big crash with 1.7km to go that held up several riders, including Michael Matthews and Fernando Gaviria, who was forced to surrender leadership of the race.
There were no time gaps among the main contenders, with Richie Porte and Chris Froome finishing safely in the bunch.
But another incident- packed day has provided several teams caught out in Stage 1 with even more incentive to take back time Monday’s 35.5km team time trial.
Mitchelton- Scott workhorse Jack Bauer was first on the scene after Yates’ crash, helping him get settled on a replacement bike.
“There was real issue in ( with the bike), just buckled wheels, brakes off- centre, handlebars twisted and the seat turned around backwards. We thought it was best to change to the spare bike,” Bauer joked.
“But he’s a tough bastard. He’s a GC rider. These fellas are hard, they’re used to knocks and tumbles and keeping on going … That’s what makes a real champ in a bike race.”
Team time trials are a Mitchelton- Scott strength, but the sight of arguably their strongest rider against the clock, Durbridge, limp- ing home with blood running down both legs wasn’t exactly ideal.
“I’m not so great … someone decided to turn left and that was my front wheel,” Durbridge said. “I know what it is when you break a bone so I should be fine – just skin.”