Chris Froome (Team Sky) has said that his 2015 season is over after he was forced to withdraw from the Vuelta a España on Wednesday due to fracturing his foot in a crash.
Speaking from his home in Monaco to ITV’s Ned Boulting on Friday, Froome said: “With the fracture, it’s six weeks off the bike. We’re still waiting to get specialist opinion to see if I need an operation or let it mend naturally, but I’m pretty sure that’s the end of the season for me now.”
Froome was on the long list to represent Britain at the UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, USA, at the end of the month. It was originally mooted that he may ride both the road race and time trial.
A crash during the opening kilometres of Wednesday’s brutal mountain stage saw Froome playing catch-up on the day’s opening climb. He then looked to be struggling during the stage, and lost over seven minutes to new race leader Fabio Aru (Astana) – his hopes of a Tour-Vuelta double finished.
Chris Froome after crashing on stage 11 of the Vuelta (photo: Sunada)
After he crossed the finish line, Froome struggled to walk after getting off his bike and was taken to hospital for x-rays. Although the x-rays did not reveal a break, a more detailed MRI scan the following morning confirmed a fracture in his foot, and he withdrew from the race.
Despite his Vuelta mishap, Froome can look back on another highly-successful season: He became the first British rider to claim two Tour de France titles, and also took overall honours in the Vuelta a Andalucia and Criterium du Dauphine in the lead-up to his successful Tour campaign.
