Chris Froome retains yellow jersey despite crash during treacherous stage 19 at Tour de France

Chris Froome has held onto his overall lead in the Tour de France despite a crash during a wild stage 19 at Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc. The defending champion skidded over a white line and was forced to continue his race riding teammate Geraint Thomas' bike with just over 10km of Friday's (22 July) race remaining.

Frenchman Romain Bardet clinched the stage in first place, lifting him up to second in the general classification. Adam Yates however has slipped off the podium places, with Colombia's Nairo Quintana moving up into third.

While appearing to be nursing an injury after his crash, which also ripped his yellow jersey, Froome powered through to finish safely, Weather conditions wreaked havoc throughout the afternoon, so much so that the Briton actually manage to extend his lead at the summit by 19 seconds.

"Ironically, I was trying to stay safe but I hit one of the white lines and lost my front wheel," Froome told ITV4. "I'm okay, I'm lucky nothing is seriously injured. I lost some skin and banged my knee a little bit but today I'm grateful to have that four minute advantage to fall on a little bit. It was great to have team-mates around me."

Stage 19 was littered with crashes in treacherous conditions, with Tom Dumoulin injuring his wrist after an early fall. Shortly after, Pierre Rolland of Cannondale-Drapac was sent skidding across the road, ripping his Lycra in the process to end his chances of winning the stage, despite getting to his feet immediately after.

Bauke Mollema was the next to go down, with Dani Navarro following suit shortly later, almost taking down Mollema for a second time in the process.

Doumlin was forced to withdraw from the Tour after his fall. The Giant-Alpecin rider was considered a favourite for the time trial event at the 2016 Olympic Games but his participation in Rio could now be in jeopardy.