Chris Froome limps on alone out the back in Catalunya and had almost 40km ahead of him. None of his team mates waited for him because they were looking after Egan Bernal.
Chris Froome suffered what looked like a nasty fall at Volta a Catalunya with just under 40km remaining on today’s second stage.
After a bike change and handing him some bottles, Froome was left to his own devices. None of his team mates waited on him because Egan Bernal was the priority for the team.
And with climbing still to come in the stage after Froome’s crash, the team said it need to keep all its riders to look after Bernal.
It meant Chris Froome would eventually lose more than 14 minutes on the reduced peloton; Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) winning in a sprint.
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Froome is now well down in the overall and rising team star Bernal (22) should contend to win after his Paris-Nice overall victory.
Team Sky directeur Nicolas Portal said the squad had no option but to leave Froome off the back alone with ride the remaining 39km.
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"Froomey crashed just a couple of kilometres before we passed the finish line for the first time,” Portal explained.
“He still doesn't really know what happened but it was a tricky corner, which had a few road works on the right and was also quite bumpy.
“Someone hit him and he slid and crashed. By the time he changed bike and got going the bunch was going too fast and there was no chance to come back.
“He is here to support Egan this week but it is a shame it happened. We could not ask another one of our guys to wait.
“We knew if we did this we'd have two riders less on the final climb. Today it was really important for Egan to have that support.
“It was a technical finish and we knew there could be some splits. Froomey said himself for the guys to stay at the front. Obviously we will monitor him but it seems like Froomey is okay."
Chris Froome crash Catalunya
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