Contador crashes in Tour de France first stage

‘When you crash you get back on the bike and don’t feel pain but then after the stage you might be in trouble’

Alberto Contador's Tour de France chances suffered an early blow on Saturday when the Spaniard crashed with about 80 km left in the first stage.

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The Tinkoff rider, twice winner of the Tour, fell heavily on a bend but quickly got back on his bike with bruises to his right shoulder.

He was helped by several team mates to rejoin the peloton before changing his right shoe and having his right shoulder taped by a race doctor.

"It's not the best way to start. I’m bruised all down along my right side from my ankle up but at least I don’t have to go home," Contador told reporters.

"I came into the corner, there was a traffic island and my front wheel hit it and then I fell back on the curb."

Contador, who has not won the Tour since 2009 but has had a strong build-up to the event as he looks to beat pre-race favourites Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana, has crashed several times on the Tour in recent years.

He now has to deal with the pain over the next few stages before tackling the first mountain stage, a long trek in the Massif Central on Wednesday.

"Hopefully, I can get through the coming days and recover before the mountains. There are some positions where my shoulder gives me some doubts but I want to be optimistic and recover. I was well placed (before the crash)," the 33-year-old said.

“It’s very unfortunate, of course,” his sports director Steven De Jongh said. “(Brent) Bookwalter crashed in front of him and took Alberto out.

"The first signs are good, he said he was fine. When you crash you get back on the bike and don’t feel pain but then after the stage you might be in trouble. But, hopefully, he’ll be fine.”