Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome is to undergo surgery after “a serious training crash” that saw the British cyclist airlifted to a hospital in France.
Froome’s team, Israel-Premier Tech, said on Thursday that he was “stable and did not sustain any head injuries” but added that scans confirmed a pneumothorax, five broken ribs, and a lumbar vertebrae fracture.
Froome was taken to hospital in Toulon by helicopter on Wednesday after the accident, which happened while he was training near Saint-Raphael. His team said “no other cyclists or vehicles were involved.”
His last victory was the Giro d’Italia in 2018. He also won the Spanish Vuelta twice, in 2011 and 2017, bookending his four triumphs in the Tour – the first in 2013, followed by a hat-trick of titles from 2015-17.
The 40-year-old Froome never returned to his previous best level following a training crash at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphine, an event he used to fine-tune his bid for a record-equalling fifth Tour title. In the accident, he broke his right femur, elbow and ribs.
This latest incident could spell the end of Froome’s career, as his contract with Israel-Premier Tech is coming to an end.
