First crash at the Tour de France and first withdrawal: Filippo Ganna went down at km 52 of the first stage with Sean Flynn, on a right-hand curve taken at full speed by the group, in a race phase where the wind had just changed and the peloton was pushing hard.

Ganna remained on the ground for a few moments, then was assisted by the race doctors, got back on his bike and initially rejoined the back of the group: over two minutes of delay covered in about twenty kilometers, despite being forced to change a shoe that had been damaged in the fall. The rider from Piedmont detached again when the race encountered a cobbled côte, the Mont Cassel: he gradually lost ground, clearly the back pain was making itself felt and forced him to get off the bike and leave a Tour he had prepared with great dedication.

We are of course awaiting updates on the health conditions of the Italian time trial champion. Meanwhile, also due to the aftermath of a crash and the subsequent efforts to return, Stefan Bissegger has also withdrawn: 182 men remain in the race, including 10 Italians.

UPDATE AT 5:50 PM. At the Ineos Grenadiers bus, sports director Zak Dempster provides an update on Ganna's condition: "He took a hard hit, no further tests should be necessary for this, but above all he shows symptoms of a concussion which are not to be taken lightly".