On the same day Tour de France leader Jonas Vingegaard's teammate Primož Roglič abandoned due to injuries from a previous crash, more troubles struck his team as Steven Kruijswijk crashed on stage 15 and is out of the race.
The Dutchman fell along with Team DSM's Martin Tusveld and was taken off the course with a suspected fractured collarbone. Green jersey holder Wout van Aert, also held up in the incident, rode off knowing that Kruijswijk would not be continuing.
The team's fortunes continued to descend into chaos just 7km later when Vingegaard came down in a crash with teammate Tiesj Benoot.
Vingegaard got up and took a new bike and chased back on along with Christophe Laporte, Sepp Kuss and Nathan Van Hooydonck but was shaken.
The Dane leads the race by 2:22 over UAE Team Emirates' Tadej Pogačar but is now missing two important helpers for the upcoming stages in the Pyrenees.
Pogačar also has lost two teammates earlier in the race, with Vegard Stake Laengen and George Bennett departing after testing positive for COVID-19. Of the top contenders, only Geraint Thomas has a full roster of Ineos riders left.
The peloton had been in pursuit of two attackers, Mikkel Honoré and Nils Politt ahead of the intermediate sprint, and, after Vingegaard rejoined, Van Aert led the chasers across the line to take 15 points.
More to come.
