As stage winner and race leader Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quickstep) crossed the finish line, a much-reduced peloton followed, perhaps still reeling from what had transpired with less than 50 kilometres remaining.
Israel Start-Up Nation were one of the worst-affected by the incidents, with Michael Woods finishing 8 minutes and 49 seconds behind Alaphilippe.
Woods’ time paled in comparison to teammate Chris Froome, however, as the four-time Tour de France winner went down in the other high-speed crash with six kilometres to go.
Visibly shaken, the Briton was helped back onto his bike from teammates Omer Goldstein, Rick Zabel and Reto Hollenstein, and finished 14:37 behind.
Fellow pre-race contender Miguel Angel Lopez, too, fell victim to the crashes – the first, caused by a spectator standing on the road with his back to the oncoming peloton.
To his credit, the Movistar rider was still able to get back into contention, until the second crash caused the Colombian to finish 1:49 behind alongside Guillaume Martin and Jumbo-Visma’s Steven Kruijswijk.
Movistar co-leaders Alejandro Valverde and Marc Soler also lost time - 5:33 and 24:38 respectively - and now chase a GC picture that currently boasts two Australians in the top 10.
Team BikeExchange’s Michael Matthews sits second after leading the sprint from behind to pip third-placed Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo-Visma), while Jack Haig of Team Bahrain Victorious finished four seconds back in fourth.
Matthews’ teammate Lucas Hamilton rounds out the top 30, with compatriot Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroen Team) and Richie Porte (Team Ineos Grenadiers) further behind Alaphilippe ahead of Stage 2.
The Tour de France continues tonight with a 183.5-kilometre stage from Perros-Guirec to the steep finish atop Mur-de-Bretagne. Watch all the action on SBS from 8:30pm (AEST), with live racing commencing at 9:00pm.
