Cap Frehel - Slovenia's Janez Brajkovic, the leader of the RadioShack team, was forced out of the Tour de France in Wednesday's 164.5-km fifth stage from Carhaix after crashing 92 kms from the finish.
The Slovenian, one of the pre-Tour favourites, slipped on a white line on the roadside, hit the tarmac and lay on the ground for several minutes before being attended to.
He finally stood up but team officials decided he should call it quits.
Three-times Tour de France champion Alberto Contador of Spain also crashed a few kilometres further down the road but was quickly back on his bike.
Other favourites were involved in multiple crashes caused by strong winds on the seaside course.
Briton Bradley Wiggins was the first on the ground and the British champion slipped one minute behind the main bunch while his Team Sky team mates were chasing to help him catch up again.
Dutchman Robert Gesink was involved in the same crash as Brajkovic and apparently suffered an arm injury but was able to continue.
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The competition is getting interesting, not so much because of the quality of the matches but more because of the teams making their moves to contest for the top spots, writes blogger Baylion.
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