TIGNES, France: A Tour de France spectator was in a coma after being hit by German rider Patrik Sinkewitz during the eighth stage yesterday.

The T-Mobile rider broke his nose in the accident on the ride down to Val d'Isere, organisers said.

T-Mobile technical director Luuc Eisenga told reporters the spectator and Sinkewitz had been flown by helicopter to Chambery hospital.

Meanwhile, Australian Stuart O'Grady has been taken to hospital after a crash in the eighth stage yesterday.

O'Grady's Tour ended when he crashed on the descent of the Cormet de Roselend climb, which took a costly toll on the peloton.

He was taken immediately to hospital in nearby Moutiers complaining of back injuries.

Official race doctor said: "O'Grady is complaining of a sore back but I don't think he has a fracture."

Earlier, his compatriot Michael Rogers, of T-Mobile, was left with hand, knee and apparent shoulder injuries after a crash near the bottom of the descent. He was also forced out of the race.

Rogers was in the virtual yellow jersey and travelling in excess of 60km/h when a sudden braking manoeuvre brought him down on a left hand bend.

O'Grady, the winner of the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic in April, was one of the team support riders for CSC's Spaniard Carlos Sastre.

Today is the first of two rest days on the Tour, while tomorrow's ninth stage featurs the first unclassified climbs of the race - the Col d'Iseran and the Col du Galibier.