Tour de France 2015: Tony Martin broken collarbone puts Chris Froome in lead
Britain's Chris Froome was catapulted back into the Tour de France lead last night after yellow jersey-holder Tony Martin was forced to quit the race with a broken collarbone.
Read more: Froome glad to see Martin take yellow jersey
Etixx-QuickStep’s Martin sparked a chaotic finish to the sixth stage in Le Havre when he touched wheels with another rider, causing a major crash that also took down last year’s winner Vincenzo Nibali.
Froome, who is aiming for his second Tour title, escaped with only minor cuts but Martin was left with little choice but to withdraw, just 48 hours after taking the overall lead.
“I was unlucky. I don’t even remember how I went down,” said the German time-trial specialist. “But it’s the Tour, luck and bad luck are always close.”
Froome and those affected by the crash were awarded the same time as the incident came in the last 3km of the stage, meaning he retained his advantage over key rivals Nibali, Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana.
Nibali initially blamed Froome for the melee and threw a water bottle at the Team Sky rider, who later used social media to insist he had not been the culprit.