The cruelty of crashes in the Tour (From Lancashire Telegraph)

The cruelty of crashes in the Tour

7:43pm Wednesday 4th July 2012 in Opinion By Bob Hart, Web editor

Less than a week into the Tour de France, and already I'm a nervous wreck thanks to the number of crashes we've seen so far.

Today world champion Mark Cavendish had his hopes of another stage win destroyed by a pile-up.

And for the second day in a row, Lancashire's Bradley Wiggins has been delayed by falling riders close to the finish.

He would have slipped down the General Classification but for the rule that stops riders losing time if the crash that delays them is in the last 3km of the race.

Crosswinds, narrow roads, reckless sprinting, carelessly discarded water bottles and spectators foolishly standing in the middle of the road are all waiting to end the hopes of a GC contender.

Last year Bradley Wiggins had the form to win the Tour, but had the chance cruelly snatched from him when a crash left him with a broken collarbone.

The year before that Cadel Evans couldn't defend his yellow jersey after riding for several days with a broken elbow - the famously emotional rider broke down when he lost his lead and abandoned the race.

Another year he struggled on while secretly nursing a broken shoulder blade.

It takes something pretty serious to make the top riders decide to retire from a race like the Tour, and every July I spend three weeks hoping no one will get too badly hurt.

I'm finding it harder to deal with than usual this year - with Wiggins one of the two outright favourites, I'm terrified that another crash will take him out of the race.

If he's beaten on the road, so be it. But I'd hate it if a crash got between him and a Tour win.

Let's hope for a safer race after today - for the sake of Brad's yellow jersey and Cav's Olympic gold.