Top 10 Worst Crashes in Tour de France History

#10: Wim van Est

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In 1951, Wim van Est was having a terrific debut in the Tour de France. After all, he was wearing the yellow jersey, the first Netherlands national to do so, as he led the general classification. But as the Dutchman descended the Col d'Aubisque mountain path, a combination of inexperience, loose stones, and wet snow caused him to fall into a 1000-foot-deep ravine. Cyclist Roger Decock saw the drama and called for help. Luckily, Van Est managed to stop his rapid decline around 200 feet down. People tied together around 40 tubular tires to bring him back up. Somehow, the Dutch cyclist had no serious injuries.

#9: The Big Peloton Crash

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At stage three of 2015’s edition of the race, near Côte de Bohissau, William Bonnet’s bike touched the one in front of him, causing him to spill to the floor. This gave those trailing behind no chance to avoid the collision as a massive pile-up happened. Altogether, 20 cyclists were knocked from their bicycles. A number of competitors sustained injuries and as a result had to withdraw from the competition, including Bonnet with a fractured cervical vertebra in his neck, Fabian Cancellara with two fractured vertebrae in his spine, and Dmitry Kozontchuk with a broken shoulder blade and a snapped collarbone.

At the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard in July 2009, during stage 16, German cyclist Jens Voigt hit a small bump in the road and took his grip off the handlebars. He fell on the ground heavily, skidded several feet, and was nearly run over by a photographer’s motorbike. Images of an unconscious Voigt on the road were burned into the audience’s mind. He was spotted by medics and airlifted to hospital shortly afterwards. On top of various cuts across his body, Voigt had sustained a concussion and a broken cheekbone. Amazingly, by September, he was back competing at the Tour of Missouri.

As a three-time winner of the Tour de France’s Points classification, Uzbekistan national Djamolidine Abdoujaparov was known for his intense sprints. And that occasionally worked against him as he was prone to crashing, such as in 1991 during the final Champs-Élysées stage. As Abdoujaparov raced the remaining 100 meters to secure the green jersey, he got too close to the barricades. He flipped rapidly and struck the ground with such force; it was a frightening scene. Thankfully, The Tashkent Terror got back on his feet and, with help from his teammates, crossed the finish line.

While in second place during the ninth stage of the race in 2003, a hard turn on soft tarmac caused Spanish rider Joseba Beloki to lose control and fall into a heap. The fallen cyclist suffered several serious injuries, including a broken wrist and elbow and two fractures in his thigh bone. Beloki never fully recovered from the catastrophe, yet he did attempt a comeback. However, it was to no avail due to those same injuries he sustained during the crash. Even years later, Beloki still feels pain and limps from the damage as a result of what took place during the race.

#5: Johnny Hoogerland

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During stage nine of the race back in 2011, Juan Antonio Flecha was hit by a media car, which caused him to lose control of his bike and collide with Johnny Hoogerland, who flipped off his bike and landed on top of a barbed wire fence. Unsurprisingly, the Dutch cyclist received many lacerations from the sharp metal and required 33 stitches to close the damage. Meanwhile Flecha injured his elbow. Amazingly, Hoogerland still finished the stage. In 2014, he received an insurance payout for the catastrophe.

During the 2021 Tour de France, the peloton was approaching the last 28 miles on stage one in Brittany. Noticing the TV cameras, a spectator decided to pose with a cardboard sign saying “Allez Opi-Omi,” a greeting to her grandparents. However, her reckless actions caused Tony Martin to collide with her, sparking a massive pile-up. Several cyclists suffered injuries, and some even were forced to withdraw from the competition, including Marc Soler, who broke his arms. After the massive outcry, the woman handed herself in to the police. She was later fined around $1,350 and paid France’s professional cyclist association, National Union of Professional Cyclists or UNCP, a symbolic €1.

In 1994, Belgian rider Wilfried Nelissen, was racing through Armentières during stage one of the Tour de France. However, one police officer wanted a souvenir. Completely oblivious, he stood there taking a photo while Nelissen looked down. As a result, the Belgian slammed into the officer at great speed, flipped in the air, taking down several other riders in the process. Nielssen injured his knee, but it was frenchman Laurent Jalabert who took the most damage from the crash, having shattered part of his teeth and fractured his cheekbone.

#2: Mark Cavendish

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It’s not every crash in the Tour de France that causes a debate on who was responsible, but that’s what happened in 2017. During the sprint finish at Vittel in stage four, Mark Cavendish tried to pass Peter Sagan as the gap against the barricade closed. Instead, it appeared like the Slovak elbowed the Brit, causing him to fall and suffer a fractured shoulder blade, resulting in his withdrawal from the competition. The organizers blamed Sagan and disqualified him from the rest of the Tour. This wasn’t the first time Cavendish had been badly injured on the tour. In 2014, during stage one’s final sprint finish in Harrogate, England, he bumped into fellow cyclist Simon Gerrans and dislocated his shoulder.

In 1992, Italian cyclist Fabio Casartelli took a gold medal in the men's individual road race at the Olympics. By 1995, at only 24 years of age, he participated in the Tour de France. And sadly, it all went very wrong. During stage 15, Casartelli descended the Col de Portet d'Aspet mountain path at around 60 miles per hour. Alongside other cyclists, when he reached a sharp turn, he slipped. However, Casartelli’s head struck a concrete block, causing severe injuries and knocking him out cold. While he was quickly attended to by medics and put onto a helicopter to go to the hospital, Casartelli passed away during the trip. A memorial sundial was created for Casartelli and is placed near where he fell.