Horror on Tour de France: Devastating 26mph crash wipes out several riders and leaves leader in agony as race is halted

• e-mail

Another stage and yet more drama, with this one as memorable for the sickening sight of Lycra-covered flesh hitting tarmac at more than 50kph — and for the even more unfortunate, a lamp-post — as Chris Froome’s stunning ascent of the brutal Mur de Huy.

Froome not only finished in yellow to supersede Sir Bradley Wiggins as the Briton to have spent the most days in the maillot jaune — today will take him to 15 — but dropped his three main rivals in the process. The manner in which he accelerated away from Alberto Contador on the concluding climb in pursuit of stage winner Joaquim Rodriguez is sure to give him confidence.

But it was 50km earlier that the real carnage occurred and which led to race leader Fabian Cancellara having to pull out of his final Tour with broken bones in his back.

Scroll down for video 

A rider falls (centre of the picture) after clipping the rider in front before several other racers collided, causing a huge pile up

The riders behind have nowhere to go and crash into the fallen cyclist at speeds of up to 50kmph before hitting the tarmac

Riders lay stricken on the floor in the aftermath of the horror crash on Stage Three of the famous race

A battered and bruised William Bonnet receives medical treatment on the roadside, with his cuts and scrapes clearly visible

Bonnet was among the worst injured of the racers - here a huge graze can be seen covering his right shoulder

Bonnet kneels in a daze and patches of blood cover his body. The French rider withdrew from the stage with a broken vertebrae

Frenchman Bonnet, who had to retire from the Stage, has his neck strapped in a brace after the crash by medical staff. His team later said he had fractured a vertebrae in his neck

Tour de France leader Cancellara lies on his back on a grass verge, grimacing in pain after coming off his bike during the huge collision

Someone rushes to Cancellara's assistance as numerous other fallen riders assess their injuries after the high-speed crash

Race leader and Yellow Jersey holder Cancellara gets to his feet, still visibly in pain, as he looks to get his injuries assessed

A sea of riders lie writhing in agony after the horrific crash saw at least 20 knocked from their bikes while travelling at 26mph

The sickening crash happened when William Bonnet seemingly caught the rear wheel of the rider in front, taking 20 or so down with him as the yellow jersey wearer was sent somersaulting through the air.

Three riders were forced to abandon the race immediately with a variety of broken bones while a dazed Cancellara suffered for the remainder of the stage, finishing almost 12 minutes adrift and ending up in hospital.

A further crash shortly afterwards, again involving some 20 riders and this time marking the end of the race for Dmitry Kozonchuk, led to the unprecedented decision to stop the race for about 10 minutes.

As the race organisers explained afterwards, it was not to give Cancellara the opportunity to rejoin the peloton but because the medical services were now spread across two crash sites and therefore unable to support the majority of riders who remained upright. As Team Sky’s Sir Dave Brailsford said: ‘Life is about taking a set of rules and applying them to a given circumstance. I am all for that kind of decision-making.’

He was just as supportive of Froome’s decision to lead the peloton up the Mur de Huy, the 2013 Tour winner attacking his main rivals as the 1.3km climb reached a torturous 25 per cent in gradient and putting yet more time between himself and his rivals. Only Rodriguez finished ahead of Froome, with Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana 11 seconds behind and Contador a further seven seconds adrift.

Quintana, the Colombian climbing specialist seen by many as the favourite coming into this race, is now almost two minutes down on Froome. Contador, who is chasing an ambitious 2015 double after winning the Giro, looked like a man still feeling those Italian climbs in his legs.

With 13km of cobbles and rain a distinct possibility today, there could be more crashes on what, at 223.5km, will be the longest stage of the Tour. As Brailsford pointed out, Sky will at least have the advantage of being the lead car.

‘Anything could happen but I have a strong team and I’m sure they will protect me,’ said Froome.

Tom Dumoulin of The Netherlands is helped to his feet after he was caught in the pile up. He later pulled out of the stage

Several riders lie on the ground in agony as medics raced to their aid in one of the worst crashes ever seen in the famous cycling race

Belgium's Johan Van Summeren is pictured back on his bike while his shirt is torn to shreds in the horrific crash

Dutch rider Laurens ten Dam is left writhing in agony on the road in the moments following the massive pile up

The rider is tended to by an official after grazing his leg and arm in the crash

Injured riders are left in a heap on the grass at the side of the road as they are treated by medics following the mass pile-up