Fabian Cancellara was still riding on the high brought about by his yellow jersey-earning Stage 2 performance when the unexpected happened - he got caught in a massive bike crash that gave him two fractured vertebrae.
"A heavy crash with about 37 miles remaining in the stage saw 20 riders go down, including leader Fabian Cancellara, who ceded the yellow jersey after tumbling hard and eventually withdrew after tests revealed fractured vertebra," ESPN reported.
A total of five cyclists had to pull out of this year's Tour de France, the biggest bike race in the world, due to debilitating injuries. Aside from Cancellara, France's William Bonnet, who triggered the massive pileup, has also bailed out of the race after sustaining serious injuries that necessitated a neck brace and a trip to the hospital on a stretcher.
"Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin - competing for the best young rider's white jersey - Australian veteran Simon Gerrans, and Russian Dmitry Kozontchuk also withdrew from the race," CBC said.
"All of the main Tour contenders avoided the crash, unlike Fabian Cancellara, who started the day in the yellow jersey and ended it in agony after being one of some 20 riders who fell," the news source added. "Cancellara was one of the last to go down, leaping into the air with his bike attached to him, then landing with a thud - luckily on the grass - and skidding on his side."
The Swiss rider managed to get back on his bike and finish the stage at 11:43 behind stage 3's winner Joaquim Rodriguez.
Initially, he was hopeful that he could get back into the competition the next day. However, after a check at the hospital showed he had "two transverse process fractures in two vertebrae bones of the lower back," he and his team decided to abandon their TDF hopes this year.
"This is incredibly disappointing for me," Cancellara said in an official statement, as noted by Velo News.
"The team was on a high with the yellow jersey and were very motivated to defend it. We have had a lot of crashes and injuries since the start of the season, and we finally had a great 24 hours but now it's back to bad luck. One day you win, one day you lose," he added.
The 2015 Tour de France may reportedly be Cancellara's last, although his contract with Trek Factory Racing "runs through 2016."
It can be recalled that the 34-year-old cyclist, nicknamed "Spartacus," had first earned the yellow jersey 11 years ago. However, the one he held in the wake of stage 2's performance was a special one as his career is now nearing its end. "I guess I have to keep the positive, look forward to the second part of the season," Cancellara conceded.
British cyclist Chris Froome of Team Sky, the 2013 edition's winner, the yellow jersey for stage 3.
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