Tour de France general classification leader Tony Martin has pulled out of the race after confirming that he broke his collarbone in a crash on Stage 6, his team announced Thursday afternoon.
The Etixx-Quick Step rider, who won stage four to take the yellow jersey, fell heavily inside the last kilometer on Thursday's route from Abbeville to Le Havre.
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Martin was helped across the line by his teammates, but the German was clutching at his shoulder and later tweeted: "Collarbone is broken. We will discuss further steps."
The crash also involved general classification (GC) contenders Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), the defending champion, Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and American Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing).
It proved a bittersweet day for Etixx, with Martin's teammate Zdenek Stybar winning the stage.
Fabian Cancellara has already been forced to withdraw after the Trek Factory Racing rider fractured his vertebrae when he crashed on Stage 3 while wearing the leader's jersey.
Martin leads the GC by 12 seconds from 2013 champion Chris Froome (Team Sky).