Chris Froome scheduled for Saitama Criterium appearance despite continuing injury trouble

Tour de France champion to appear in Japanese race despite not having ridden his bike since crashing at the Vuelta a España

Photo : Yuzuru SUNADA
(Image credit: Yuzuru SUNADA)

Chris Froome (Team Sky) is set to make his final race appearance of the season at the Saitama Criterium in Japan in October, despite still recovering from a broken navicular bone in his foot.

The 2015 Tour de France winner abandoned the Vuelta a España after stage 11 due to the injury, having crashed in the opening kilometres as the peloton took on the opening climb of the stage.

Despite finishing the stage that day, the severity of the injury meant Froome was forced to abandon and he said this week on Twitter that he has yet to be able to ride his bike since the crash.

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Nevertheless, it appears the Brit has assured event organisers ASO that he would be able to appear at the criterium on October 24, where he'll where his yellow jersey alongside teammate Richie Porte, who will be making his final appearance for Team Sky.

Watch: The best of the 2015 Tour de France

The Sky duo will be joined by other big names like Paris-Roubaix winner John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin), as well as Vuelta podium finishers Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo).

Majka will be joined by his teammate Ivan Basso, who received the all clear from doctors this week after being diagnosed with testicular cancer at the Tour in July.

2015 Tour de France Saitama Criterium - confirmed riders:

Team Sky: Chris Froome (GB), Richie Porte (Aus)

Team Giant-Alpecin: John Degenkolb, Simon Geschke (Ger)

Team Katusha: Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa)

AG2R La Mondiale: Romain Bardet, Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra)

Tinkoff Saxo: Rafal Majka (Pol), Ivan Basso (Ita)

Team Europcar: Yukiya Arashiro (Jap)

Trek Factory Racing: Fumiyuki Beppu (Jap), Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)

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Richard Windsor

Follow on Twitter: @richwindy


Richard is digital editor of Cycling Weekly. Joining the team in 2013, Richard became editor of the website in 2014 and coordinates site content and strategy, leading the news team in coverage of the world's biggest races and working with the tech editor to deliver comprehensive buying guides, reviews, and the latest product news.


An occasional racer, Richard spends most of his time preparing for long-distance touring rides these days, or getting out to the Surrey Hills on the weekend on his Specialized Tarmac SL6 (with an obligatory pub stop of course).