Chris Froome tried to remain upbeat after a crash on day one of the Tour de France led to him finishing 51 seconds behind the peloton.

Team Sky rider Froome - a four-time winner of the race - came off his bike with around six kilometres remaining, landing in a field by the roadside.

However, he was quickly able to remount and took heart from the fact he had not suffered injury in the incident.

Handily for Froome, a number of his perceived rivals for general classification glory were also caught up in late drama. Adam Yates and Richie Porte finished with the same time as the defending champion, while Nairo Quintana was a further 24 seconds off the pace after suffering a puncture.

"I saw a lot of crashes out there today. It’s just one of those things," Froome was quoted as saying by Team Sky.

"We always knew the first few days were going to be tricky and going to be sketchy. It's part of the game unfortunately.

"We were right at the front part of the peloton in the top third. There wasn't too much more the guys could have done. It was getting quite chaotic with some of the sprinters there, but that's bike racing.

"I'm just grateful I'm not injured in any way and there's a lot of road to cover before Paris obviously."