Fabio Aru 'didn't see Chris Froome's hand or mechanical' before attacking
Aru attacked just as it seemed Tour de France leader Chris Froome suffered a mechanical, but denies he saw the Sky man's hand go up to call for the team car


Italian champion Fabio Aru (Astana) "didn't see the moment Chris Froome had a mechanical" immediately before he attacked on the Tour de France's ninth stage to Chambéry.
Race leader Chris Froome lifted his hand to signal to the race and to his team behind that he needed a new bike. Aru, behind Froome, rode by and attacked.
>>> Tour de France organisers ‘got what they wanted’ on chaotic Mont du Chat descent
"I didn't see it because I was attacking, I wanted to attack from far out," Aru explained in a crowd of journalists standing at the Astana bus.
"I saw that I wasn't making a big difference, then I heard over the radio Froome had stopped. I didn't see it in the moment that he had a mechanical.
"I wanted to attack at that point, when there was six kilometres to go. I didn't see it. I heard it on the radio, then I stopped."
Critics blasted Aru when he launched his attack at 32 kilometres remaining on the Mont du Chat. Others joined him, but seemingly refused to work with him and he eased off.
"We will have to see what Aru has to say about it. I'll certainly ask him about it when I see him," Froome explained.
"I didn't see his attack, I was too busy trying to change my bike. It sounded like he sat up, but that group then sat up but I think that was more to due to Richie [Porte] from what I understand.
“Richie said to the rest of the guys, 'Listen, it isn't the moment to attack the leader of the race.' I want to say a massive thank you to Richie and the rest of the group for not taking advantage of that situation."
Froome seemly body-checked Aru shortly after, but it appears that he was knocked off balance by a fan.
"He was almost falling because he'd come close to a fan, he lost his balance and the elbow came out for balance," Aru added.
"Actually, he said sorry, it wasn't on purpose, no way."
Aru said that there was nothing to clarify from his attack, however.
"We were fine from there to the finish. He saw that I stopped so he didn't have any problem."
Team Astana attacked with Fabio Aru and Jakob Fuglsang on the same climb in the Critérium du Dauphiné, escaped with Froome and Richie Porte (BMC Racing) and won the stage with Fuglsang.
"And we had the same plan today," the team's sports director, Dmitriy Fofonov said.
"If he wants to attack, he attacks, we wanted to anticipate the moves and attack early anyway.
"I don't know what problem Froome had, a mechanical or if he needed a gel or bidon. It happened before on Alpe d'Huez. He called the car for a gel, which wasn't authorised.
"If you have a problem you have a problem because once the race starts, the race is on. No one waits afterwards for anyone else when crashes."
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.
-
-
Inside the first Global Bike Festival: Road, gravel and mountain biking come together in the Austrian Alps
Cycling Weekly was there to find out why hundreds of people travelled to Austria with their bikes for a weekend
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Should cyclists be worried about skin damage? All you need to know about protecting yourself from harmful rays
As high summer approaches, promising long hours of sun-drenched cycling, here’s what you need to know about the dangers posed by the sun and how to reduce the risk
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
'I'm trying to get back to my old self again' — Chris Froome achieves his best result since 2019 horror crash
Chris Froome finished 11th at the Mercan Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes on Tuesday, his best result for almost three years
By Adam Becket • 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
-
Fabio Aru announces his retirement
The Grand Tour winner will close out his career at the end of the Vuelta a España
By Alex Ballinger • Published