Spain's Enric Mas (28) became the first of the 176 riders on the Tour de France to abandon the race, quitting during the first stage after crashing heavily on a descent some 22 kilometres from the finish on Saturday.
The Movistar leader, a three-time Vuelta a Espana runner-up who finished fifth overall on the Tour in 2020, fell off his bike alongside Ecuador's Richard Carapaz (30), one of the other podium contenders.
Carapaz of the EF Education team climbed back on his bike after being attended to by race doctors and was hovering some five minutes behind the leading bunch.