King of the Mountains Johnny Hoogerland was unable to dwell on wearing the polka-dot jersey after Stage 9, instead reflecting that he was just happy to be alive after a terrible crash.
Dutchman Hoogerland was thrown through a barbed wire fence when Juan Antonio Flecha, riding alongside him, was clipped by a passing vehicle.
Hoogerland rode to the finish, sporting some nasty wounds which he admitted would require hospital treatment and "maybe thirty stitches" - but speaking after arriving in Saint-Flour the Vacansoleil man said he was just happy he had not suffered the fate of Wouter Weylandt, who passed away after a fall in the Giro d'Italia earlier this year.
"I think the people in the car will have a very big guilty feeling," Hoogerland said. "It should not happen but it's always possible that something like this can happen and I can blame nobody for it."
"I just said to Flecha - we're still alive, and Weylandt died," the emotional rider added.
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