Yellow jersey favourite Alexandre Vinokourov joined his teammate Andreas Kloden in crashing during the fifth stage of the Tour de France on Thursday.
Astana’s team leader Vinokourov got back on his bike to rejoin the peloton after crashing inside the last 30km, however unlike his German teammate the Kazakh rider came down on the tarmac while racing at speed.
It is unsure whether Vinokourov has sustained any significant injuries.
Kloden had earlier given his Astana team a scare by tumbling into a ditch. Kloden fell at the left-hand side of the road near the 107km mark of the 182.5km ride from Chablis to Autun, as the peloton continued their pursuit of a four-man breakaway.
The German, a runner-up in 2004 and who finished third in the race last year, lay briefly on the ground before getting back on his bike and continuing the stage.
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Kloden’s teammates Daniel Navarro and Paolo Savoldelli waited for him, in order to bring him back to the peloton in their slipstream, and he soon caught up with the chasing bunch.
Vinokourov is Astana’s team leader, and their main hope for the yellow jersey, however Kloden - who is strong in the mountains, and among the best in the time trials - remains a huge threat.
In a day littered with accidents, Cofidis rider Geoffrey Lequatre took a nasty tumble after catching his wheel in a feed bag and was unable to rejoin the race.
Australian sprinter Brett Lancaster also pulled out of the Tour today. Lancaster had been suffering from the start of the Tour, which he began with a stomach bug, and then he crashed on the first stage from London to Canterbury, damaging the sciatic nerve in his back.
In the following days the Milram rider, an Olympic champion on the track, suffered from the loss of power in one of his legs.