Aussie hopes in this year’s Tour take a heavy crash

Australian hopes of further glory in this year’s Tour de France have plummeted with most of the Orica-GreenEdge team.

Simon Gerrans (green and blue helmet) sits among the tangled bodies of riders after the crash.

Australian hopes of further glory in this year’s Tour de France have plummeted with most of the Orica-GreenEdge team, who were caught up in a high-speed crash during the third stage in Belgium yesterday.

The Australian-based team’s most successful rider, Simon Gerrans, was forced to abandon after breaking two bones in his forearm. His South African teammate Daryl Impey is also out with a broken collarbone, and Michael Matthews, Michael Albasini and Simon Yates are nursing wounds.

Yesterday’s horrific crash happened on a small downhill section of road about 58km from the finish line when French sprinter William Bonnet appeared to clip another rider’s wheel and went down heavily with most of the peloton directly behind him.

His fall created a domino effect as some 20 riders and bikes catapulted and cartwheeled over him, on to the road and into the ditch alongside, forcing the organisers to temporarily stop racing as all medical services were called to the incident.

Bonnet was rushed to hospital with a neck injury and Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin was also unable to continue.

Gerrans, 35, said later that he had managed to avoid the first cascade of falling riders but eventually was left with “nowhere to go’’.

“I managed to dodge past two or three guys in the grass and then I finally got caught up and went down,’’ he said of the chaotic scene. “As soon as I gathered my bearings, I knew I had hurt myself, my (left) wrist is pretty sore.’’

He was transported to ambulance for scans, which confirmed that he had broken both bones in his forearm. He said he would seek a second medical opinion in case he needed surgery to set the fractures.

That brings to an end a miserable year for Gerrans, who collided with Britain’s Mark Cavendish as they sprinted for the win in the opening stage last year. He struggled on for 16 stages but was eventually forced to abandon the tour due to his injuries.

“Sore, sorry and back to the drawing board, again,’’ he tweeted last night.

Matthews feared he had broken ribs in the crash but courageously got back on his bike. Bleeding and with half his jersey torn away, he rode in agony to the finish line, crossing in last place 21 minutes behind the winner Joaquim Rodriguez.

“A couple of guys overlapped wheels at 80km/h on a descent and unfortunately I went flying over the top,’’ he said later.

“I don’t have too much skin off me, which is quite lucky, but I might have a few broken ribs.’’

Yellow jersey wearer Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland also battled to the finish line but withdrew after scans showed that he had fractured two vertebrae in his lower back.

Climber Yates defied a shoulder injury to rejoin the leaders and finished a strong eighth on the stage.

Britain’s 2013 winner Chris Froome took over the leader’s ­jersey.