Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Chris Harper (Jayco Alura) crashed in the same place on the descent from Passo del Vetriolo on stage 4 of the Tour of the Alps.

O'Connor told Soignier and race leader Juan Pedro Lopez (Lidl-Trek) that he could not distinguish between the road and the curb because they were "the same color" on the fast curve.

The Australian duo were chasing final stage winner Simon Kerr (EF Education Easypost) when the crash occurred on the descent of the Passo del Vetriolo with 24.5 km remaining in the queen stage.

Harper hit the curb hard on a bump in the road surface and slid headlong off the right shoulder into a lamppost.

Harper was forced to retire from the race due to his injuries, but fortunately he was able to get up quickly after his fall and speak with the race doctor and team staff on site. So far, there has been no further news from the team.

O'Connor managed to restart his bike and rejoin the rest of the leading group of riders, despite suffering small cuts on his face and right hand. He was also seen testing the use of his wrist with 25 km left in the race after crashing into the deck.

Miraculously, he managed to rejoin the pack of contenders for the win after suffering several crashes on the final run to the line, leaving him enough time to attack in the last kilometer. O'Connor finished third behind Kerr and Michael Stohler (Tudor) and moved into second place, 38 seconds behind Juan Pedro Lopez (Lidl-Trek).

After crossing the line, however, he sat on the curb and struggled to unclip as he reached his helper before reporting what had happened.

He examined his hands without gloves, but revealed that they appeared relatively unscathed given the speed of the crash and that he attempted a bunny hop once he realized he was about to hit the curb.

"The road looked the same, I couldn't see the curb. They were the same color and I just rode it. It wasn't until I got to the barrier that I thought, 'Damn,' and jumped," O'Connor said.

"After the crash I was fine. I didn't see the end of the corner," O'Connor said later on social media.

"It's a little annoying, but in the end I was third again today and a few seconds better overall. My legs were very good all day. I just felt a little shaky after the fall, but I'm okay. I think tomorrow is everything."

In an interview after the finish, Lopez reaffirmed what the Australian rider had said, saying that the Spaniard was "unlucky, even though I was riding well."

"I actually went looking for Ben after the finish. I wanted to congratulate him for what he did on the descent. He rode very well and went down very fast, but he was unlucky," Lopez said at the post-race press conference.

"He crashed because there was a mismatch between the road surface and the exact same color surface.