Stage 2 of the Tour de France Femme turned out to be a nightmare day for FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope, with Cecilie Uttrup-Ludwig dropping out of overall contention and Marta Cavalli out of the race.

A series of crashes wreaked havoc for the two leaders of the French team in the final kilometers of the stage to Provins.

First to crash was Cavalli, the Giro Donne runner-up and one of the pre-race favorites to win. With 25km to go, a crash occurred inside the peloton, and despite slowing down to avoid a pile-up, Cavalli was taken out from behind by another rider.

Australian national champion Nicole Frain (Parkhotel Valkenburg), on her way back to the pack from a previous crash, apparently unaware of the pile-up in front of her, ran into Cavalli, pinning the Italian's bike underneath her.

Landing on his back, Cavalli remained on the ground for several minutes, but then got up, re-mounted, and continued riding. However, it was soon determined that she could not continue the race and she stopped, tears streaming down her face.

"It was a huge shock. It's a big deal," said team manager Steven Delcourt after the stage.

"She hesitated and wanted to continue, but the team said no. Cycling is a part of life, not a priority."

"I was very happy with the results," she said.

The team later announced that Cavalli had sustained a head injury and remained under medical supervision.

"OK, we may have lost the race, but the most important thing is Marta and we will support her as a priority.

Delcourt confirmed that Cavalli was headed to the hospital for a scan that would reveal the extent of her injuries.

"It's really hard to see images like that. Can you imagine if it was your own family?

"Marta wasn't in a good position and I didn't want to take any risks at that time [of the race], one rider crashed and came back, she crashed a second time and I didn't see Marta, she was in a bad position and I didn't want to take any risks. I don't even have words. It's really hard when you see footage like this."

Less than 5 km later, FDJ co-leader Uttrup Ludwig fell to the deck in another crash in the peloton. The Danish champion was not so badly injured and began a frantic chase with his remaining teammates.

With Elisa Longo Borghini and Kasia Nyewiadoma, the overall contenders, the pack finished half a kilometer behind.

Uttrup Ludwig was about 90 seconds behind these two and 1:04 behind pre-race favorite Annemiek van Fruten, who finished in the main group.