Belgian rider Tim Merlier earned another stage win at the Tour de France while several riders fell as they sprinted to the line on Thursday, local time.Defending champion Tadej Pogačar avoided the crash and kept his significant overall lead over second-place Jonas Vingegaard after 12 stages.It was Merlier's third stage win on this year's Tour and sixth of his career Just behind them, four other riders had no room to swerve around them and flew over their handlebars.None of the riders appeared seriously injured and Gaviria eventually crossed the line with the help of a teammate.The Caja Rural-Seguros RGA team said the 31-year-old Gaviria sustained a fractured left collarbone and had pulled out of the race."There was a lot of chaos and a mix of teams at the front of the peloton," teammate Stefano Oldani said, describing the crash. "I saw him lying on the road next to two Lotto (team) riders and I realised straight away that he'd taken a nasty hit."Four-time Tour champion Pogačar remains 3 minutes, 36 seconds ahead of two-time champion Vingegaard and 4:06 ahead of Remco Evenepoel in third place.Pogačar had extended his overall lead Tuesday after another trademark attack in the 10th stage.Stage 12 was a mostly flat 179km route starting from the Magny-Cours track, which once hosted Formula 1 races, and ending in Chalon-sur-Saône in eastern France.Frenchman Baptiste Veistroffer forged ahead on his own until he was caught by a group of 14 riders heading into the last 30km