Belgium’s Thomas De Gendt and Italy’s Alessandro De Marchi ride in a breakaway during Stage 8 of the 2019 Tour de France. Photo: JEFF PACHOUD / AFP
Horror scenes from the crash that ruled De Marchi out of the Tour de France
Alessandro De Marchi’s 2019 Tour de France is over after the Italian was involved in a horror crash on Stage 9 of the brutal race.
Belgium’s Thomas De Gendt and Italy’s Alessandro De Marchi ride in a breakaway during Stage 8 of the 2019 Tour de France. Photo: JEFF PACHOUD / AFP
Crashes at the Tour de France are a fairly common sight. On Sunday’s stage, Italian cyclist Alessandro De Marchi crashed pretty badly. He abandoned the tour with a broken collar bone, broken ribs and facial lacerations, but he is recovering, as per the tour commentators.
The moment his crash happened, though, was utterly horrific. The 33-year old rider of Team CCC was laying face down on the pavement with blood streaming from his head. Concerned supporters were seen desperately trying to call for help.
Also read:
- Tour de France 2019: Route map, stage profiles, dates and distance
- Why Mark Cavendish won’t be riding the 2019 Tour de France
- Yellow Jersey centenary – a unique jersey for every stage
- Tour de France 2019: Latest classification standings
- Rider bunny hops to avoid crash
- The 2019 riders ranked from youngest to oldest
An ambulance arrived on the scene and De Marchi was wrapped in space blankets, loaded on a stretcher and taken away.
The Italian’s team, CCC, posted on Twitter stating:
“We can confirm @ADM_RossodiBuja was fully conscious after his crash.
“He has a deep facial laceration and will be taken to hospital for X-rays to determine if he has any fractures.”
De Marchi had started the day 33 minutes and 46 seconds behind leader Julian Alaphilippe.
He had a great ride on Saturday. The Italian led a breakaway with eventual stage winner Thomas de Gendt, holding out until around 14km to go.
Tour de France 2019: Stage 9 profile
Riders just can’t catch a break. Hilly, with climbs to finish, this is another tough day and the rest day is only on Tuesday. The stretch to the Côte de Saint-Just (3,7km at an average of 7,3 %), at 13kms from the finish at Brioude, is just another little treat the organisers have blessed riders with. How sweet.
Distance: 171,5km
Profile: Another hilly stage, with a category one climb nice and early.
