Enric Mas (Movistar Team) started the opening stage of the Tour de France as a genuine challenger for the general classification final podium, though he did not even last one stage. The Spanish rider came down hard in a crash in the final of the stage - some 182km starting and finishing in Bilbao - and has been forced out of the race.
Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) also came down in the same incident and while he looked shook immediately afterwards, and did not get back on his bike for a long time, he eventually resumed the stage. However, he was already a long way back and was expected to lose significant time, thus ending any hopes of a general classification challange.
Both riders were in the peloton, going at 58km per hour, according to updates from the Tour, when they went down with 22km to go.
Mas looked like he took a blow to the head as he was put through a concussion protocol by the roadside for a prolonged period before news emerged that he had been forced to abandon.
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