Footon-Servetto-Fuji's Iban Mayoz was forced to abandon the Tour de France yesterday following a crash on the descent of the Col d’Ares, forty kilometers from the finish in Bagnères-de-Luchon. The Basque rider picked himself off the pavement and managed complete the stage, finishing in last place, more than thirty minutes behind the day's winner Thomas Voeckler (Bbox Bouygues Telecom). Mayoz headed to a hospital in nearby Vielha, Spain following the stage, and was diagnosed with three fractured ribs.
The incident marked the fourth rider sent home in the team's inaugural Tour de France, leaving just five to try to secure a stage by the finish in Paris on Sunday. Manuel Cardoso's Tour ended on day one when he took a nasty tumble in the prologue in Rotterdam. Italian Fabio Felline and Austrian Markus Eibegger were the next to abandon; the former was involved in a crash on the stage to Morzine, and the latter lost his bout with bronchitis.
Rafael Valls and Aitor Perez have finished second and third in stages, respectively. Valls has ridden well in the mountains of the Tour de France and represents the team's best chance for a stage win. With only a couple of mountain stages remaining, there isn't much opportunity left for the Spanish team.