Tour de France 2020 - Crashes galore on opening stage involving Sivakov, Alaphilippe and Lopez

Rain caused havoc on the opening stage of the Tour de France as multiple riders crashed – including two of Egan Bernal’s henchmen – while Astana's Miguel Angel Lopez was fortunate to escape serious injury after a huge scare in Nice.

Pavel Sivakov and Andrey Amador, part of the eight-man Ineos Grenadiers squad tasked with delivering Bernal to Paris in yellow, both went down on a chaotic stage that saw a flurry of crashes in treacherous conditions.

Sivakov was bleeding heavily from gashes on his right arm and knee after crashing with over 100 kilometres remaining. Although he gingerly pressed on, he was pictured remonstrating with his team car and looked uncomfortable in the saddle, before hitting the ground a second time.

Meanwhile, Amador fell with 69 kilometres left but looked less shaken than his colleague.

Julian Alaphilippe, who controlled the yellow jersey for much of the 2019 Tour, also struggled after suffering a mechanical.

The Frenchman looked uncomfortable on the windy descents, repeatedly unclipping his shoe and dangling his leg out for balance on the corners.

The conditions continued to catch out the riders but despite the madness, Astana tried to pick up the tempo in the final 50 kilometres – and immediately paid the price.

Miguel Angel Lopez locked up both wheels and hurtled into a signpost on a treacherous downhill turn, with the Spaniard fortunate that he had slowed sufficiently to avoid serious injury.

With that, pre-race favourite Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo-Visma) barked at Astana’s Omar Fraile to halt the ridiculous pace and a large front group came back together.

There was still time for one final major collision as a bunch of riders hit the deck inside the final three kilometres, including home favourite Thibaut Pinot (Groupama–FDJ).

Matt Stephens in the Eurosport commentary box tried to explain why there were so many crashes.

"The roads in this part of the world are like ice. There’s very little rain here at all. And when it rains, it makes it so slippery," said Stephens.

"We saw a crossing and that paint, a shiny surface, all it needs is a feather on the brakes and you’re down. It is almost like ice in these sorts of conditions and is absolutely treacherous.

"On one hand, you’ve got to thank the organisers for ensuring there are no potholes. But when you get rain on a new bit of tarmac, the rain almost beads up on the top of it and creates a glacial surface. It’s very difficult to control your bike."