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Stuckey also is injured.
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ARENBERG, France -- Reigning champion Chris Froome crashed twice and quit the Tour de France on Wednesday during a chaotic, nerve-jangling, filthy fifth stage full of spills. Derek Bell Jersey . Froome fell even before the seven cobblestone patches on the slick road from Ypres, Belgium, to Arenberg-Porte du Hainaut in France. Riders had known months ago about the bone-jarring course; incessant rain made it even more treacherous. The withdrawal of the Team Sky leader left the race wide open with 16 stages still left. Overall race leader Vincenzo Nibali wasted little time in speeding ahead, notably after he saw that his other big rival for the title this year, two-time Tour victor Alberto Contador, had trouble on the second run on cobbles. Sensing the danger from the rain, race organizers scrapped two of the nine scheduled cobblestone patches, and reduced the stage by three kilometres (two miles). But that still wasnt enough to stop many riders from tumbling. Froome, already nursing pain in his left wrist from a crash on Tuesday, took his third and last spill in two days about halfway through the stage. With a cut under his right eye, the Team Sky leader limped over to a team car, climbed in, and drove away. Froome tweeted he was "devastated" to have to withdraw. "Injured wrist and tough conditions made controlling my bike near to impossible," he wrote. He wished luck to new Sky leader Richie Porte of Australia and his other teammates for the rest of the race. "Its devastating for Chris and for the team," Sky boss Dave Brailsford said. "We really believed in Chris and his ability to win this race. But its not to be this year. "When you have a day like today, when you have a setback, you have to roll ahead and go again, you have to recalibrate your goals. Richie Porte came on the Tour to be the team leader No. 2, and he showed great ability to ride the cobbles the way he did." The last time a defending champion abandoned the Tour was five-time winner Bernard Hinault of France in 1980, according to French cycling statistics provider Velobs.com. Nibali, too, was one of several high-profile riders who crashed, recovered and excelled on the 152.5-kilometre (95-mile) route. The Italian finished third and extended his lead. He and second-place Jakob Fuglsang of Denmark were 19 seconds behind stage winner Lars Boom of the Netherlands. "This is a special, special day for me," said Boom, who rides for Belkin Pro Cycling. "I was really looking forward to the cobblestones." Overall, Nibali leads Astana teammate Fuglsang by 2 seconds. Cannondale rider Peter Sagan of Slovakia was third, 44 seconds back. Contador, breathing hard under a mask of mud at the finish, lost about 2 1/2 minutes to Nibali: Hes 2:37 back, in 19th place. Skys Porte was eighth overall, 1:54 back, and Valverde was 10th, 2:11 behind. Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., was tied for 99th in the stage, 13:51 off the lead. Christian Meier, also from Langley, was 15:23 off the pace in a tie for 117th. Tuft is 140th overall and Meier is 144th. Nibali expressed little reaction to Froomes pullout. "We have to be calm. The road to Paris is very long," he said. "Cycling is made of crashes, and we have to take that into account." Others who went down but kept going included Americans Andrew Talansky and Tejay van Garderen, Spains Alejandro Valverde, and Germanys Marcel Kittel, winner of three of the first four stages. In what was perhaps the days most visually dramatic crash, Belgiums Jurgen van den Broeck went hurtling over his handlebars in a bend on a cobblestone patch, and tumbled into a grassy roadside. While the chaos on the course raised questions about riding in such poor conditions -- critics in social media had a field day -- it made for great racing imagery: Many riders were caked in sloppy, wet mud on their faces and shins, their biceps jiggling as they held their handlebars. A mix of sweat, rain, mud and drool dropped from many chins. Many looked as if theyd ridden through a shower of chocolate pudding. The race heads to Champagne country on Thursday, with a mostly flat 194-kilometre (120-mile) run from Arras to Reims in Stage 6. Ryan Pressly Jersey .Y. -- Florida Panthers captain Ed Jovanovski finally has something to show for all the pain he went through in overcoming a string of injuries that kept him sidelined for much of the past two years. Brian Hunter Jersey . -- Kael Mouillierat scored three times and set up one more as the St.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Chauncey Billups squared up, and the roar began before the shot even left his hand, finally reaching a crescendo when the ball dropped through the net. "Its not like that everywhere," Billups said. Billups enjoyed a delightful homecoming Wednesday night, scoring 16 points in his first game back with the Pistons and helping Detroit to a 113-102 victory over the Washington Wizards. Greg Monroe had 24 points and 16 rebounds, and Josh Smith added 19 points for the new-look Pistons, who won their first game under new coach Maurice Cheeks. Detroit signed Smith and acquired Brandon Jennings in a trade this off-season, but it was Billups who fans seemed most excited about. He was in the starting lineup and drew a huge cheer when he was the last player introduced in the pregame ceremony. Billups was the MVP of the 2004 NBA Finals with the Pistons, but he was traded four years later in a deal Detroit fans still look back on with regret. The Pistons signed him back this off-season. Detroit trailed 7-3 when Billups connected on that 3-pointer from the right wing -- when the crowd started cheering in anticipation well before the shot went in. Billups added a couple more big shots in the fourth quarter, and by the time the game was over, fans were chanting "MVP!" for him. "It felt good, but that was a little crazy," the 37-year-old Billups said. Andre Drummond added 12 points and eight rebounds for Detroit, which is hoping to snap a streak of four straight seasons without reaching the playoffs. Trevor Ariza scored 28 points for the Wizards, who were outscored 56-28 in the paint. Washingtons John Wall had 20 points and 11 assists, but went 8 of 21 from the field. "We got beat everywhere tonight," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "Everyone in this league knows that you cant let Chauncey Billups shoot 3-pointers. You have to make him put the ball on the floor and beat you that way. So what did we do? We stood there and watched him shoot open 3s." Detroit led 89-85 in the fourth when Kyle Singler pushed the lead to seven with a driving three-point play. Billups later made back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 100-87. "We just didnt do anything defensively all night. Josh Reddick Jersey. We were just watching them," Wall said. "You dont want to get behind in the other teams home opener, because everyone is excited and you just let the crowd get all ramped up. We got close a couple times, but Chauncey or Josh would hit a shot and the crowd would go crazy again. Thats on us." Washington is hoping to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2008, but it may be awhile before the Wizards or Pistons really have a sense of how improved they are. Washington was without first-round draft pick Otto Porter, who has been out with a right hip flexor problem. Center Marcin Gortat, acquired from Phoenix in a trade last week, did not start and played only 17 minutes. Jennings was out for Detroit with an impacted wisdom tooth and a hairline fracture on the mandible at the base of the tooth. Guard Rodney Stuckey also is injured. He broke his right thumb after catching it in a car door and needed surgery. Smith, Detroits prized free agent signing, had a quiet first half, scoring five points and taking three of his four shots from beyond the arc. Drummond, however, was a force inside. His highlights included two emphatic putback dunks, the second of which gave the Pistons a 45-33 lead. It was 55-43 at halftime. Smith went right to work in the second half with a dunk, and after the Wizards cut the lead to six, Smiths 3-pointer made it 68-59. Smith also was active around the basket on defence, blocking what looked like a dunk attempt by Gortat late in the third quarter. "It was picture perfect for me," Smith said. "Just being able to get out there and see the fans cheering the basketball team on, staying engaged for the whole game." Although there were pockets of empty seats in the upper level, there was more energy at the Palace than on almost any night last season. Pistons owner Tom Gores was seated courtside, and for one game at least, his revamped team gave fans reason for optimism. "It feels like old times," Billups said. "The energy in this building sounded familiar. I hadnt seen that in a while around here. It felt really good." ' ' '