The third stage of the Tour de France was neutralised for about 10 minutes on Monday when yellow jersey holder Fabian Cancellara was involved in a massive crash that took down a couple of dozen riders.
FDJ rider William Bonnet of France was put in a neck brace after falling off his cycle when it seemingly touched a wheel, and others around him were also brought down in a flurry of flying bikes and bodies.
At one point Team Sky riders accelerated before Cancellara made his way back to a bunch that was riding at the minimum pace required when a race is neutralised.
Organisers then decided to stop the race altogether and the peloton came to a halt 55-km from the finish before resuming the stage.
“Due to the extraordinary circumstances of the crash at a very high speed, the race was neutralised to allow the injured riders to get back in the peloton,” organisers said in a statement.