Colombian cyclist Esteban Chaves was forced to withdraw from the Tour de France during the fourteenth stage, after suffering a fall in the first kilometers of the race. As a consequence of this incident, the test had to be neutralized for 25 minutes.
Despite the fall, Chaves tried to continue in the competition and get back on his bike. However, after a few kilometres, he realized that he could not go on due to the injuries he sustained.
Chaves, the 33-year-old Colombian champion who placed second in the 2016 Giro d’Italia and third in the Vuelta a España that same year, was riding his fourth Tour de France. In the previous edition, he ranked thirteenth.
Chaves is the third cyclist to leave the competition due to this fall, after the Spanish Antonio Pedrero and the South African Louis Meintjes, who was in thirteenth position in the general classification.
The fall occurred at a time when the cyclists were not riding at high speed and affected around twenty riders, just as the first attacks began.
After a 25-minute hiatus, in which the medical services of the teams and the organization treated several injured cyclists, the stage was ordered to resume.