Romain Bardet and James Shaw became the fourth and fifth Tour de France riders to abandon stage 14 after the French all-rounder and British Tour debutant crashed early in the stage.

Television footage showed Bardet, the leader of dsm-firmenich, being helped to his feet after falling on the fast, sweeping descent of the day's opening, category 3 Col de Saxel. Bardet had injured his knee and elbow.

Several teammates waited for Bardet, but the 32-year-old was unable to continue competing. He was in 12th place overall.

EF-Education Easy Post's Shaw was also reportedly involved in the same crash and had to abandon. The British rider became the second EF rider to retire on stage 14. Esteban Chaves was one of three riders forced to withdraw from the Tour after a massive pileup in the early kilometers.

Bardet had already had a very tough Tour after coming down with a bronchial infection early in the second week. He finished 19th at the summit finish of the Grand Colombier on Friday.

"When it gets hard, I can't stop coughing," he said. The Tour is tough when you're not at 100%."

Bardet, who finished fifth in the Tour de Suisse, looked in good shape before the race. Bardet, who finished sixth overall last year, already has three Tour stages under his belt, including Sunday's summit finish on Mont Blanc.

Shaw, meanwhile, has broken twice during the Tour, finishing fifth in Cautaret on stage 5 and seventh in Grand Colombier on stage 13 on Friday.