Pogacar's rival Vingegaard forced to withdraw from the Tour de France

The Danish rider crashed in a roundabout, taking several teammates from Visma-Lease a Bike and the Mexican Isaac del Toro down with him. Del Toro, who would go on to finish third in the stage, was able to continue the race, however.

Vingegaard, the 2022 and 2023 Tour de France champion, was taken to the medical tent in severe pain, with his right arm in a sling. Overall leader Tadej Pogacar managed to avoid the crash. Vingegaard, winner of the most recent Vuelta and Giro d'Italia, was 4:30 minutes behind Pogacar in the general classification at the start of this first Alpine stage.

The Dane was the first to crash. In the small roundabout, which his teammates were riding through at very high speed while chasing a seven-rider breakaway group, he lost control of his front wheel. His key support rider, Sepp Kuss, also fell but was able to continue the race shortly afterward.

The crash caused the pack of favorites to slow down temporarily. The group led by the Yellow Jersey wearer initially slowed down before picking up the pace again.