Chris Froome is in intensive care after undergoing surgery for multiple fractures suffered in a high-speed crash.
The Team Ineos leader fell heavily during a recon of the Critérium du Dauphiné time trial course on stage four, when he took his hand off the bars on a descent and a gust of wind carried him into a wall at 50km/h.
Froome suffered serious injuries in the fall, including a fractured right femur, fractured right elbow and fractured ribs.
>>> How will the Tour de France change without Chris Froome?
His wife Michelle posted on his Twitter on Wednesday night (June 12) that Froome had gone into surgery, and Team Ineos boss Sir Dave Brailsford later said he had been moved to the intensive care unit after the operation.
Michelle Froome said: “Chris is in surgery at the moment to repair the multiple fractures, please keep him in your thoughts.
“I hope to be able to share a message from him tomorrow morning.”
Brailsford then told the BBC Radio 5 Live BeSpoke podcast: “He’s in intensive care in Saint Etienne hospital now.
“He’s been operated on to make sure that first phase of medical care is as optimal as possible and we will manage it from there.
“It’s an evolving situation. It is concerning, there is no doubt about that.
“There are crashes and bad crashes and this was a bad crash.”
News of Froome’s crash emerged before the start of stage four of the Dauphiné in Roanne, when Team Ineos announced he had been taken to hospital after the fall.
>>> Twitter reacts as Chris Froome due to miss Tour de France 2019
Brailsford confirmed shortly after that Froome had suffered a suspected fractured femur and was not expected to recover in time for the Tour de France next month.
Later that evening, Team Ineos confirmed Froome had suffered multiple serious injuries and was due to be airlifted from hospital in Roanne to St Etienne, where he underwent surgery that same evening.
Froome will definitely not be riding the 2019 Tour it has been confirmed by the team.
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