Crashes are part and parcel of the Tour de France, but yesterday’s mass pile-up, less than three kilometres from the finish line of the 168.5 kilometre second stage of the 2007 Tour, in Ghent, was spectacular.

The most significant victim of a 30-rider fall during which bikes and bodies scattered across the road and into the crowd, was Fabien Cancellara, the overall race leader and winner of the prologue in London on Saturday.

“I fell, but I didn’t hit the ground,” Cancellara said of a spill that left him sprawled on top of other riders. Fortunately for the Swiss, time losses caused by crashes in the final three kilometres of flat stages are negated.

Cancellara crossed the finish line nursing his left wrist, although he was optimistic of continuing the race after a visit to hospital was considered unnecessary. “I was scared when it happened, but it feels better now,” he said last night. “It was a tense day, but dangerous and you had to concentrate the whole time. But whatever you do, there are always crashes.”

Mark Cavendish, of Great Britain, suffered his second heavy fall in two days. The 22-year-old, who first crashed on Sunday shortly before the sprint finish in Canterbury, finished the stage with blood running down his left leg and was said by T-Mobile team personnel to have soft-tissue injuries.

Geraint Thomas, another Briton in his first Tour, was able to laugh off the crash. “It happened in front of me, but I managed to land on a sprinter, so I’m OK,” the 21-year-old Welsh rider said last night. “My bike’s a bit of a mess, but I’ll be all right for tomorrow.”

David Millar, the Scot, emerged intact from the mêlée and will expect to hold on to his lead in the King of the Mountains classification for another day, with only four category climbs on the Tour route until Thursday’s stage to Autun.