Gallery
Falling Hard PN25-28
I am breaking one of my own rules here, but this crash meant something in the overall general classification. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) started the day in third place just under a minute behind the race leader. And he was a mere nineteen seconds off of the race for the Maillot Blanc. But an unseen traffic island in the middle of an S curve caught the young Dane off guard. Riders on the front gave a warning of the danger, but his teammate just ahead was so occupied avoiding the danger himself, that he didn't give a warning to the guy right on his wheel. His teammate, Mads Pedersen, and one of the Gendarmes escorting the peloton were the first to check on his condition. He had come down hard smacking his helmet against the road. Pedersen stayed with him until the team car and the doctor arrived and then had to press on with the race. You can just see the green shorts that go with his Maillot Vert peeking out under his rain gear. In order to carry that sprinter's jersey to Nice, Pedersen had to keep going.