Tour de France crash: Lipowitz suffers broken collarbone

Florian Lipowitz has been forced to abandon the Tour de France after a serious crash resulted in a broken collarbone. The 25-year-old German rider also suffered multiple abrasions to his right shoulder, his Red Bull team confirmed.

Team principal Ralph Denk expressed his disappointment at the rider's withdrawal. "It's a great shame that he cannot continue. We will miss him not only in the fight for the podium, but we will miss him as a person," Denk said outside the team hotel.

The exact impact of the injury on Lipowitz's season remains unclear. While a broken bone typically takes six weeks to heal, professional cyclists have been known to return to racing as soon as three or four weeks after a collarbone fracture. Lipowitz had been scheduled to compete in the UCI Road World Championships in Montreal from September 20-27.

Lipowitz's injury is similar to one sustained by two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, who also crashed on the 15th stage on Sunday and had to withdraw from the race.

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It's a great shame that he cannot continue. We will miss him not only in the fight for the podium, but we will miss him as a person.