Chris Froome (Team Sky) knows more than most that a Tour de France challenge can end within the blink of an eye.
The three-time Tour winner crashed out of the event in 2014 before the race even reached the mountain stages, and on stage 2 of this year's race the defending champion was handed a reminder of just how thin the line between success and failure can be when he came down in a fall on the slick, wet roads on the outskirts of Liège.
The fall was caused when Katusha's Reto Hollenstein came down with around 30 kilometres to go. Froome was near the front, attempting to keep out of trouble, but when the Katusha rider slipped on the wet parcours Froome was left with no where to go. He was the first Team Sky rider to hit the deck, but Michal Kwiatkowski, Luke Rowe and Christian Knees were also left needing treatment.
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Froome wasn't the only GC contender left to pick himself up off the tarmac, with AG2R's Romain Bardet and BMC Racing's Richie Porte also forced to follow suit and chase back to the bunch. Geraint Thomas, Froome's teammate and the race leader, was also involved in the fall but quickly remounted and avoided a long chase with Froome. Thomas retained his five-second GC lead over Stefan Küng (BMC Racing), although stage winner Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) moved to within six seconds of the yellow jersey.
Froome made it back to the bunch after a tense chase that was punctuated by a bike change, crossing the line in 37th place, safely in the main field. He was one of the first Team Sky riders to arrive at the team bus and walked straight onto the bus to change his clothing and assess his wounds before a quick warm down on the rollers.
"There are no injuries, thankfully," he told the press after a brief discussion with his mechanic as he warmed down.
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