Chris Froome abandons Tour de France
Defending champion Chris Froome quits Tour de France after crashing twice during stage five


Chris Froome (Sky) abandoned the Tour de France today after crashing twice in the wet cobble stage to Arenberg. The defending champion fell the second time with 67.7 kilometres to race and got into team Sky's car.
Froome also crashed the first time at 35 kilometres into the 152.5-kilometre stage from Ypres to Arenberg, which covers seven sectors of pavé. He had yet to reach the first sector at pavé, which began with 68.5 kilometres to race.
Heading into the fifth stage, Froome sat seventh overall at two seconds behind Italian Vincenzo Nibali (Astana).
Team boss, David Brailsford said this morning that the team would also protect Aussie Richie Porte in Wednesday's stage should anything happen to Froome. Porte, who placed seventh in the 2010 Giro d'Italia and won several races last year including Paris-Nice, should take over the team leadership.
Only 18 hours before the cobbled stage, it appeared bad for Froome when he crashed on his left side in Tuesday's stage to Lille and injured his wrist. He said, "The wrist is painful and it’s certainly not ideal going into tomorrow’s cobbled stage." Today, under rain, he fell on his right side first and a second time at 85 kilometres into the race. He climbed into the car with Team Doctor Alan Farrell and Sports Director Nicolas Portal.
Froome already had problems leading into the Tour de France with a chest infection, sore back and a crash in the Critérium du Dauphiné. Despite the hiccups, he won the Tour of Oman and Tour de Romandie stage races, and two stages in the Dauphine.
Other riders including Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) also crashed at 70 kilometres to race.
Chris Froome injured after Tour de France crash
Crash in opening kilometres of stage four on Tuesday leave Chris Froome with injuries ahead of Wednesday's key cobbles stage
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
-
Doing more cycling in the 'sweetspot' training zone could revolutionise your fitness - here's why
The ‘comfortably hard’ zone just below FTP promises sweet rewards for your aerobic fitness, but how much and how often is best for you? Pro coach Brendan Housler explains
By Brendan Housler • Published
-
Are you getting the most out of Strava? Five tools to enhance your Stava experience
Whether it’s deeper analysis, stitching together activities or showcasing your ride, there’s a lot more you can do with Strava integrations
By Stefan Abram • Published
-
Chris Froome: Being competitive at Tour de France would be a 'dream scenario'
The Israel-Premier Tech rider on being back at his normal level, appreciating his past, and aiming to have form late into the season
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Chris Froome set for 2022 race debut in Italy
The four-time Tour de France winner will return to racing at the Coppi e Bartali next week
By Richard Windsor • Published
-
Chris Froome claims 'racing has become more dangerous' due to 'abundance of data'
The Israel-Premier Tech rider suggests cycling performance has drastically improved since he became a professional, but not necessarily for the best
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Chris Froome says time trials should be raced on road bikes to improve safety
The four-time Tour de France champion gives his thoughts in light of Egan Bernal's recent training crash
By Jonny Long • Published
-
'We need to see results from him': Israel-Start Up Nation expect Chris Froome's form to improve as they target a place among the super-teams
The four-time Tour winner will have to prove his form if he wants to be on the startline of the 2022 edition
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
Star-studded field set to ride the Deutschland Tour 2021
The German race has attracted a large amount of big-name riders who aren't riding the Vuelta a España
By Tim Bonville-Ginn • Published
-
Chris Froome set to miss Vuelta a España, according to reports
The seven-time Grand Tour winner battled through the Tour de France despite an early crash
By Tim Bonville-Ginn • Published
-
Chris Froome and Philippe Gilbert save fan who fell down ravine on Tour de France stage 17
The incident occurred on the descent of the Col du Portet as the riders made their way back to the buses
By Jonny Long • Published