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ESPN staff
Richie Porte has crashed out of the Tour de France after landing heavily on his collarbone during stage 9 of the race.
Australian rider Porte, who was 10th in the race for the yellow jersey 57 seconds behind leader leader and BMC Racing teammate Greg Van Avermaet, was left in tears as he crashed out just 10km into the 157km long flat stage between Arras Citadelle to Roubaix in northern France.
The BMC Racing rider was one of the main contenders to finish on the podium in Paris. No Australian has won the Tour de France since Cadel Evans in 2011.
This year’s crash adds to Porte’s rotten luck at the Tour de France. He also crashed out at stage 9 last year while 2014 saw him struck down with pneumonia while challenging for the yellow jersey with Team Sky — ultimately finishing 23rd, while a puncture in 2016 saw him lose two minutes which he never quite managed to make up, going on to take a fifth placed finish.
#TDF2018 We are devastated to say that @richie_porte has crashed out of stage 9. We will provide more information when we can. Thank you to all of our fans for your support. #Ride_BMC pic.twitter.com/PjgYvD0g8Q
— BMC Racing Team (@BMCProTeam) July 15, 2018
The crash also saw André Greipel needing treatment while Movistar’s José Joaquin Rojas has also been forced to abandon the race. Tom Dumoulin, meanwhile, suffered a puncture.