Amets out of Tour

Poor, poor Amets. After crashing out of the Vuelta al País Vasco whilst in the climber's jersey earlier this year, he suffered the same fate in today's fourth stage of the Tour. Amets crashed spectacularly after only 28 kilometres and fractured the same collarbone, the right one, and had to abandon. To his great credit though he finished the stage as the race doctors couldn't tell if it was broken or just badly bruised while he was riding, so he fought his way to the finish-line just 4:37 down on the pack. A great ride, but naturally it counts for nothing as he's now have had to abandon the two most important races on his calendar this year. Amets' eyes were filled with tears as he came across the line, and messages of support from his team-mates were posted on Twitter soon after. Naturally Amets' abandon is a big blow to the team, but, just like the affable climber surely will, they'll live to fight for another day. Alan also struggled big-time today due to his crashes on yesterday's mini-Roubaix stage. He came in alongside Amets 4:37 down, but he's not in danger of throwing in the towel as far as I'm aware. The rest of the guys finished inside the pack, but the one positive we can take from the day was Iñaki's presence in the five-man break. The quintet never looked like staying away, and they didn't, but they worked heroically to hold the pack off until only four clicks remained. Nice ride from him. Here's to a quick recovery for Amets!