Friday`s moment occured just 25 metres from the line when the German rider Erik Zabel wobbled in the midst of an elbows-out sprint for the line and nearly fell.

Thankfully he managed to stay upright, but it was an illustration of how treacherous a sprinter's life can be hurtling towards the line at 40 miles an hour.

Zabel is a prolific winner and has won the green points jersey in the Tour a record five times.

Steels sanction

He leads the competition at the moment and his chances of a sixth consecutive maillot vert could easily have gone in an instant.

Tom Steels from Belgium paid for it, by being demoted to last in the sprint for not keeping his line.

You need a special kind of nerve (or is it madness?) to ride so quickly, while being so close to so many others with equal ambition.

Zabel, who has won two stages this year already, was soon smiling up on the podium afterwards and remains on course to win the green jersey again.