Tour de France halted after brutal crash (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Several cyclists in the Tour de France are nursing some serious road rash after a domino-effect crash decimated about half of the peloton about 100km into the third stage of the legendary race.

20 riders skidded to the ground after one cyclist clipped another and fell, causing the riders behind him to crash and resulting in a dog pile of racers pushed off the side of the road. Race leader and wearer of the yellow jersery, Fabian Cancellara, was included in the collision.

The cyclists were reportedly travelling at about 41 km/per hour and the crash left four competitors unable to finish the third stage. Due to the severity of the accident, the race was paused for 10 minutes while the injured received medical treatment. Favourite Tod Dumoulin from the Netherlands was sent to hospital with unknown injuries and has abandoned the race, along with William Bonnet and Simon Gerrans,

Pictures show a number of cyclists sprawled across the ground, jerseys and skin literally scraped off their bodies.

Chris Froome of Great Britain and Team Skyy later won Stage Three of the race and was presented the yellow jersey in Huy, Belgium after the 159.5 km leg between Anvers and Huy.

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