Chris Froome plans to return to racing much sooner than expected, with the four-time Tour de France winner hoping to be back in a peloton this year.
The Team Ineos rider, who crashed so badly this year
eyewitness Dan Martin thought it may be fatal, is eyeing some post season
criteriums.
These are effectively demonstration events that are
shorter and much less intense that racing proper.
ASO, which owns the Tour de France and other major pro
races, organises many of the crits including in the Far East.
And while Froome has not specified exactly which races he
is hoping to return to, he has identified some of these criteriums as a goal.
Froome crashed during a recon of stage 4 TT at Critérium
du Dauphiné back in June.
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.
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And having been treated and examined by local medics a
right femur fracture was diagnosed. He also suffered a broken elbow and broken
ribs.
Just last week he was back in surgery when he sliced
tendons in his hand while using a kitchen knife at home.
"It would be great to be able to do some of those post-season events that I typically do in the off-season. Just to get back into the pro scene again. It would great if I could do something before January," Froome has told The Telegraph newspaper in the UK.
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He dismissed as “ridiculous” online speculation he had
not crashed at all, pointing out riders like Dan Martin came upon the scene and
saw exactly what had happened.
“I didn’t even take that stuff on board. Everyone who saw
me knew what had happened,” he said.
“All the riders who rode past me when I was lying on the
side of the road knew what happened.
"There's probably a five-minute window where I can't
remember anything – and it drives me crazy," Froome explained.
"Apparently, we went through a town after the
descent. I don’t remember. It was in that town, when there was a long straight,
slightly downhill section, that it happened.
"I guess the fact that I can't remember anything
means it's not going to haunt me in that sense."
He also believed he could win another Tour de France,
saying coming back after what he had been through was an additional challenge.
"A fifth Tour title was a big deal in itself. But
going for a fifth title off what was potentially a career-ending crash… That
would be even bigger,” he said.
“There were loads of people who came out after the crash
and said 'He's done. He'll never win another Tour.' They only spur me on."
However, he accepted his age – now 34 years – and coming
back from his injuries is a combination few come back from.
“History’s not on my side. But I’m a huge believer in the
saying ‘age is a state of mind’,” he said.
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