Thibaut Pinot 'annoyed' after crash in closing kilometres of Tour de France 2020 stage one

Thibaut Pinot was caught up in a crash in the closing kilometres of stage of the 2020 Tour de France.

With the stage neutralised from 3km to go due to the treacherous conditions, the Frenchman crossed the line four minutes behind Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) who won the stage and took the yellow jersey.

Pinot looked exasperated as he got back on his feet, first leaning over his bike to catch his breath before banging it on the road in frustration at his misfortune, the crash said to have been caused by the wet, white lines of a pedestrian crossing. It's not yet known whether he has suffered any injuries.

The Groupama-FDJ ride rode the final kilometres alongside his team-mates, his jersey ripped at the shoulder as well as sporting tears in his shorts near the hip.

After the finish, Groupama-FDJ said that three of their riders had been brought down in the crash, with David Gaudu and William Bonnet the other two involved, as well as Valentin Madouas hitting the deck earlier in the day. The quartet is said to have reassured the team that their condition is fine after returning to the team bus.

"Like anyone who has a crash in the finale, he was annoyed and a bit tense," Marc Madiot, the Groupama-FDJ boss said. "But after a good night’s resort, things should be fine tomorrow.

"Thibaut avoided the crashes before the three-kilometre to go point but when it’s slippy, it’s slippy. When they got to the three-kilometre to go point I think some guys eased up and got in the way."

>>> Miguel Ángel López crashes into road sign after riders neutralise racing on descent at Tour de France

Stage one was marred by crashes, with Miguel Ángel López careering into a road sign on a descent and Nairo Quintana just about managing to stay upright with some gravity-defying balance.

Ineos' Pavel Sivakov also suffered a nasty-looking fall early on, detached from the peloton for a while before he fought back, while Jumbo-Visma's George Bennett also came off during the final descent.

Bennett's team-mate Tony Martin had managed to convince the riders of a temporary halt to racing during the stage, but when action resumed even announcing a GC neutralisation from 3km couldn't prevent the final crash that brought down Pinot.