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| Wednesday, July 25 |
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| Accident involves at least 10 riders Reuters | |||
SARRAN, France -- Five cyclists abandoned the Tour
de France on Wednesday after suffering broken bones and bruises
in a serious crash near the end of the 229.5-kilometer stage
from Castelsarrasin to Sarran.
Marc Wauters of Rabobank, Sven Montgomery of Francaise des
Jeux, Jens Heppner of Telekom, Oscar Pozzi of Fassa Bortolo and
Vicente Garcia Acosta of Banesto were all forced to pull out of
the race after the accident, which occurred around 32 km from
the stage finish line near the town of Tulle.
Montgomery was the most seriously injured, wounding and
breaking bones in his face, Tour doctors said in a statement
after the stage finished.
Doctors said the Swiss rider had not lost consciousness nor
had he suffered any cerebral or neurological lesions, but that
he had been moved to a bigger hospital in Limoges for
observation overnight.
Heppner, Pozzi and Wauters all suffered fractures to their
collarbones and multiple contusions, while Garcia Acosta likely
broke a bone in his forearm or hand, doctors said.
The crash served as a warning to overall leader Lance
Armstrong about the possible pitfalls in the remaining four
stages of the race, which ends on Sunday in Paris.
Television images showed that at least 10 riders were
involved in the accident.
Maarten Den Bakker, one of Wauters's Rabobank team mates,
said he narrowly avoided becoming wrapped up in the crash.
"Some riders were going too fast and blew out the corner,
taking others with them. I was on the inside -- the good side
-- so I was able to take the corner OK," Den Bakker told
Reuters after the stage.
Germany's Jens Voigt won the stage after he and six other
riders escaped from the main pack about 61 kms into the ride
through the sun-baked corn fields of southwest France.
Armstrong, on course for his third Tour victory in a row,
stayed safely in the pack around 20 minutes back to keep the
yellow jersey with a lead of five minutes five seconds over his
nearest rival Jan Ullrich.
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ALSO SEE Armstrong still cruising; Voigt wins stage Voigt relishes moment in spotlight Wasp stinger, strict anti-doping rules force rider out Wednesday's Tour de France results Tour de France: Day-by-day | |
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