RICHIE PORTE suffered a horrific crash at 45mph on the ninth stage of the Tour de France which left him in a neck brace before being sent to hospital.
The Australian fell heavily off of his bike and landed head first onto tarmac before he skidded across the road only to collide with fellow rider Dan Martin.
While Porte quickly received medical attention on the track, Martin was able to dust himself down and continued racing.
Porte, who is one of Chris Froome’s main challengers for the yellow jersey, was conscious after the crash and was able to move his arm and legs but he will no longer compete in the race.
Images show that he has badly damaged his right arm following the incident.
Speaking after the race, Martin said: “Richie lost it on one corner – it was so slippery, I guess the organisers got what they wanted.
“It was so slippery under the trees.
“I was very, very lucky to get away as lightly as I did.”
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Froome and Mark Cavendish both sent out their thoughts to those involved in the crash on the Mont du Chat.
While Porte’s team, BMC Racing, revealed their rider would be taken to hospital following the crash.
Relieved to finish safely but thoughts are with everyone that crashed today, especially @GeraintThomas86 & @richie_porte
#TDF2017
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) July 9, 2017
This was not the only bad crash on the ninth stage after Briton Geraint Thomas fractured his collarbone, forcing him to quit the Tour.
Meaning not only has Froome lost a rival in Porte but he also lost a key teammate in Thomas in the same stage.
This also comes after Cavendish was ruled out of the tour with a broken shoulder after his clash with Peter Sagan.
The 31-year-old was barged by world champion Peter Sagan against the advertising hoardings as he smacked against the tarmac in Vittel.
Sagan has since been disqualified for causing Cavendish to crash.
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