FDJ sprinter Arnaud Demare, one of the favourites for the stage win today - Mark Cavendish picked him in his stage-by-stage guide for the BBC Sport website, needs a new front wheel and is forced to pull over.

He gets one fairly quickly from team-mate Tobias Ludvigsson and should have just enough time to get back on, but that's far from ideal.

The veteran Aussie Mathew Hayman puts his arm around Adam Yates as the Mitchelton-Scott squad cruise at the back of the bunch.

Out front, Sylvain Chavanel is still going great guns, but his lead is down to 1'10'' inside the final 25km of stage two.

Adam Yates, surrounded by Mitchelton-Scott team-mates, has made it back to the peloton.

The Briton looks to have a couple of scratches but has come through that crash relatively unscathed.

Didn't see how Silvan Dillier came down but the Swiss rider is now back on his bike.

Meanwhile, Sylvain Chavanel plows on, his gap now down to 1'17'' as the peloton ramp up their chase.

Adam Yates is now being paced back to the bunch by team-mates Jack Bauer and Luke Durbridge.

He was involved in a tangle with Jesus Herrada of Cofidis, just a touch of wheels but enough to cause both riders to come down.

Yates lost 51 seconds yesterday, rolling in with Chris Froome and Richie Porte, and looked a bit panicked trying to get a new bike before finally setting off.

Rob Hayles
Ex-GB cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live, in France

It just goes to show you cannot take your eye of the ball. You have to keep concentration at all times.

Romain Bardet's team-mate Silvan Dillier is also down.

Adam Yates is down, report race radio. The Briton needs a new bike.

No TV pictures yet, more when we get it.

Mark Cavendish picked Luis Leon Sanchez to win stage 14 in his stage-by-stage guide for BBC Sport.

He might be a bit busy to pick a new winner now.

Rob Hayles
Ex-GB cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live, in France

Crashing is an occupational hazard of cycling. You're often going at up to 40-50mph and wearing nothing more than your underwear. MotoGP guys have got nothing on us...although they might be going a bit faster

Sanchez's Tour is over but the race is still on.

The peloton continue to chip away at Sylvain Chavanel's lead, which is down to 1'50'' into the final 35km of the stage.

Rob Hayles
Ex-GB cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live, in France

They are getting a bike off the top of the car for him, trying to encourage him to keep going. That's a first refusal. Game over. Another one to cross off the list, alas.

Remarkably, Astana are preparing a bike for Sanchez.

However, the Spaniard walks over to it, tries gingerly to put his left hand on the handlebars and immediately knows his race is over.

Instead he walks over to the medical van and becomes the second rider after Tsgabu Grmay to abandon the 2018 Tour de France.

Sanchez is a hugely experienced rider - a winner of four Tour stages and a former Paris-Nice champion. That's a big blow for Astana.

Luis Leon Sanchez's left side is in tatters. His jersey is ripped and he's lost a fair amount of skin.

Replays show it was nothing more than a clash of wheels in a quiet moment, Sanchez fell and put his arm out.

I think Luis Leon Sanchez's race could well be over. He's holding his collarbone.

Sylvain Chavanel is in full on time trial mode, laying it all down on the road.

But one man cannot (usually) beat 174. The Frenchman's lead is down under two minutes.

Astana's Luis Leon Sanchez is down, in a tangle with a Cofidis rider.

The Cofidis man is up and off riding but Sanchez remains prone on the road.

Looks to be a big spill, the Spaniard is in some agony.

More co-operation from the other sprinters' teams with Quick-Step now.

Dimension Data's Jay Thomson comes to the front now - a sign the team are confident Mark Cavendish can contest today's finish?