Jan Ullrich provided the Stage 13 Tour moment with an unplanned excursion off the road that could easily have ended in disaster.

He misjudged a fast left-hand bend on the descent of Col de Pey Res Ourde.

The German mounted the clumpy grass alongside the road, went outside the metal safety barrier and then plunged spectacularly into the long bushes and out of sight.

It was heart-in-the-mouth time for both him and everyone else watching the pictures.

Fortunately, his landing was relatively soft and not too far beyond the level of the road.

The Olympic champion quickly reappeared with nothing more than a muddy shirt, and no doubt a brown pair of shorts to match, after his fright.

He was lucky. Many a mountain bend would have left him in big trouble, either down a ravine, in the branches of a tree or needing to be airlifted off the mountainside.

Ullrich's lucky escape came after Dutchman Bram de Groot was left in a coma for several hours following his own high-speed crash on a similar mountain descent.

Lucily, De Groot is recovering well now, and Ullrich is still in the race.

Nonetheless, it's a stark reminder of the real dangers faced by these gladiators of the Tour as they go about their work.