Geraint Thomas suffers minor crash on Tour de France

Geraint Thomas suffered a crash on stage 16 of the Tour de France on Tuesday.

The defending champion came off on a right-hander with around 130km of the 177km stage, which started and finished in Nimes, remaining.

Thomas was quickly back on his bike, sporting grazes on his left shoulder, but rejoined the peloton after spending time back at the Ineos team car.

Thomas sits second in the general classification – as the Tour resumes following Monday's rest day – 95 seconds behind Julian Alaphilippe.

Though the Welshman is in pole position should Alaphilippe fall away as expected in the Alps, four riders are bunched up within 39 seconds of him, with the Tour as wide open as it has been for many a year going into the final weekend.

Tuesday's stage, contested in temperatures reaching 40 degrees, is anticipated to end in a sprint finish with little movement in the battle for the yellow, though Thomas' spill illustrated the dangers always lurking on the roads.