Mass crash: 14th Tour stage stopped - Three tasks

The 14th stage of the Tour de France has been temporarily halted due to a mass crash. Around five kilometres after the sharp start in Annemasse, a large part of the peloton crashed on a descent.

14th stage of the 2023 Tour de France temporarily neutralised

The Tour de France organisation immediately neutralised the race and stopped the riders. After around 23 minutes, the race was resumed with a two-kilometre neutral phase. It was the first mass crash at this year's Tour.

Spaniard Antonio Pedrero and South African Louis Meintjes had to abandon the race immediately and be taken to hospital. The Colombian champion Esteban Chaves also abandoned a few kilometres after the re-start. Meintjes' collarbone fracture was immediately confirmed. The 31-year-old was in 13th place overall and was the captain of the Intermarché team with Georg Zimmermann from Augsburg.

>> The list of retired drivers

Almost every team involved in the crash

The crash was apparently caused by a driving error. Almost every team was involved, prompting race director Christian Prudhomme to neutralise the rider. The sports directors praised this move, which is rare at the Tour. The race doctors attended to the 20 or so riders who crashed, some of whom suffered extensive abrasions.

In the past, external factors have tended to bring the race to a halt. Sometimes environmental activists blocked the road, sometimes the riders went on strike for more safety on the road. At the 2019 Tour, the stage to Tignes had to be cancelled due to a landslide.

Copyright 2023, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved