Chris Froome was one of many riders who hit the deck on yesterday’s opening stage of the Tour de France. He fell in the neutralized section, before the race even started. The Team Sky rider got too close to the curb and went down, cutting his knee.

But he could remount and soon he realised that the injuries were not serious.

“I managed to get through the rest of the day unscathed and if that’s the only crash I have this Tour I’ll take that!” he said.

The opening stages of these kind of races, can be very dangerous. It is really easy to crash.

The Team Sky knows that the most important thing of the first stages is to try to avoid trouble.

“I don’t think any of us expected it was going to be plain sailing today, but there were some pretty brutal crashes in the final there,” Froome said.

“Again it’s just another reminder that this Tour is about so much more than having the form and being here. It’s about staying out of trouble and looking after ourselves in the peloton at the same time.”

Team Sky' teammate Geraint Thomas also hit the deck. He could continue the race this morning.