EF Pro Cycling's Sergio Iguita dismissed Thursday's crash with around 25km to go in the second stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné as "a real shame, but it can't be helped." Teammate Dani Martinez caught up with the lead group at the summit finish of the Col de la Porte and finished 10th overall, 20 seconds behind race leader Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma).

Higuchi, while part of a large lead group that was cut off on the final climb, appeared to clip a road sign on an island in the middle of the road, a crash that brought down a number of racers, including Dan Martin of Israel Start-Up Nation.

"After today's crash, I feel fine and fortunately I have no broken bones.

"I was in the top group and feeling good. 'I was pretty calm then. I was about 4km from the start of the last climb when it happened. There's nothing I can do about it now."

Fellow Colombian climber Rigoberto Urán was unable to improve on his best time in the last few kilometers of the Col de Porto, finishing the stage 1:37 behind, but his compatriot Martinez finished seventh in the stage to keep the team's GC hopes alive.

"It was a shame that Sergio crashed on the last climb," said Martinez. But my legs felt good and I think I did a good race."

"It was a day where the pace of Team Ineos at the beginning of the climb and Jumbo Visma at the end of the stage was really strong.