Chris Froome has been airlifted to hospital after being the victim of the crash while he was training in France. Though Froome remained conscious, he has suffered injuries that will keep him out of racing for the remainder of the season.
That effectively signals the end of his racing career as Froome (Israel Premier Tech) looked set to retire at the end of the 2025 campaign.
The British rider's team confirmed he had been involved in a crash, which happened yesterday, though news of the incident has only emnerged today.
"Chris Froome was airlifted to hospital in Toulon yesterday afternoon following a serious training crash," the team said, adding no other cyclists or vehicles were involved.
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"Fortunately, Chris is stable and did not sustain any head injuries, however, scans have confirmed a pneumothorax, five broken ribs, and a lumbar vertebrae fracture, for which he will undergo surgery this afternoon. We will update on Chris' condition following surgery."
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Froome (40) has raced for Israel Premier Tech for the last five years, joining that team after riding for Sky/Ineos for 11 seasons, during which he won the Tour de France four times, the Giro once and the Vuelta twice.
However, in 2019 Froome crashed during a recon of stage 4 TT at Critérium du Dauphiné. He crashed hard as he neared the end of his recon ride in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes; a gust of wind catching his front wheel and send him into a wall at high speed.
And having been treated and examined by local medics a right femur fracture was diagnosed. He also suffered a broken elbow and broken ribs. His crash were such that he never regained his form after coming back to the sport.
