Tour de France cyclist breaks his neck after collision with spectator

Devastating news has emerged regarding Tour de France competitor Daniel Oss, who had a nasty collision with a spectator on Thursday.

As reported by the Daily Mail, the Italian athlete was competing on stage five of the world-famous cycling race when he suddenly smashed into a member of the crowd at high speed - causing him to hit the cobbled road hard.

The scary incident was captured by a fellow spectator in the crowd.

In the video footage, the fan can be seen leaning forward in order to record the cyclists on their phone as they zoom past. Gasps and screams can be heard, as several cyclists were knocked off their bikes.

Check out the scary moment below:

Eleven sections of the stage saw the competitors navigate cobblestone roads.

After amazingly finishing the stage, it has now been reported that the collision has resulted in Oss fracturing a vertebra in his neck.

"Additional examinations revealed a fracture of a cervical vertebra requiring immobilization for a few weeks," Oss's TotalEnergies team revealed in a tweet. "Daniel Oss is therefore forced to leave the Tour de France. The whole team wishes you a good recovery Daniel."

Over on social media, people were split over who was to blame for the collision - Oss or the spectators.

One person tweeted: "I wish fans would stop thinking more about grabbing a video than the sport and safety of the riders. Get well soon Daniel."

However, a second Twitter user wrote: "Spectators getting a lot of criticism here, but I thought it was against the rules to ride in the gutter like that due to the risk of hitting a spectator."

Daniel Oss. Credit: SFM Press Reporter / Alamy

In further bad news, Austrian cyclist Michael Gogl (team Alpecin-Deceuninck) - another competitor who fell to the ground as a result of the collision - has also had to withdraw from the competition.

Velo News reports that Gogl suffered a broken collarbone and pelvis, and is now expected to undergo surgery in the hospital of Herentals, Belgium.

Additionally, team Bahrain Victorious has revealed that Australian Jack Haig is also out of the competition after sustaining injuries on the cobbles.

A statement from the Bahrain Victorious team read: "Haig was taken to hospital following the crash. Jack had multiple abrasions and bruises over the body and required stitches for a cut above the elbow. CT scans also revealed multiple non-displaced wrist fractures. Fortunately, Jack had no concussion or head injury and will travel home tomorrow.

We wish Oss, Gogl, and Haid all the best in their respective recoveries.

Featured image credit: Belga News Agency / Alamy