Defending champion Chris Froome's nightmare start to the Tour de France has continued after another fall.
Television pictures missed the fall itself but Froome was seen with ripped jersey and shorts down his right hand side trying to fix a mechanical problem by the side of the road.
Blood and grazing could also be seen on his hip through a rip in his shorts.
His Sky teammates quickly dropped back to pace the 29-year-old Briton back up to the peloton.
Froome was riding with a splint on the left wrist he injured in a crash on Tuesday.
Wednesday's fifth stage began in driving rain.
Two of the nine anticipated cobbled sections had to be removed because they were deemed too dangerous.
But Froome's crash happened 40 minutes into the stage on a straight bit of normal tarmac, a long distance before the peloton was due to hit the cobbles.
Moments later German Tony Martin, part of a nine-man breakaway on the stage, also hit the deck.
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