Chris Froome grateful to come away uninjured from Vuelta stage 12 crashes
Two crashes cost the Vuelta a España leader some valuable time, but Froome says he's just happy to come away unscathed
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ho5RHykH9SYifsRUiEdMmM-415-80.jpg)
Chris Froome on stage 12 of the Vuelta a España (Sunada)
Chris Froome (Sky) will be thankful tonight that he suffered no major injuries from two crashes in the final of the Vuelta a España's stage 12 to Antequera.
The race leader in red fell off on the descent in the final 10 kilometres of stage, which was won by Tomasz Marczynski (Lotto-Soudal) from an escape group.
>>> Five talking points from stage 12 of the Vuelta a España
Froome appeared as normal when arriving to the press tent, but did not stay around to answer more than three questions as he did after stage 11 at Calar Alto.
"I did come off twice on consecutive corners," Froome explained. "I crashed once, lost my front wheel, crashed. The levers were all bent, I changed bikes right away, went into the next corner and lost my front wheel again. I just carried on on that same bike after that.
"Thankfully, I had my team-mates with me, Mikel Nieve and Wout Poels, they were fantastic and they limited the loses today for me. I am grateful not to be more not to be more injured today, I lost a little bit of skin, but that's the extent of the injury."
Froome still holds the red jersey, but his rivals gained time. Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) took 42 seconds and other favourites, including Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) in second place, took 20.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Froome leads the overall by 59 seconds on Nibali and 2-13 minutes on Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott). Contador moved to ninth at 3-13.
"It's never nice to crash and lose time like that, but I am just grateful that I had two team-mates there with me," Froome said. "Wout and Mikel were with me all the way to the end."
Froome crashed after Contador launched an attack with with Nicolas Roche (BMC Racing) at around 20 kilometres out.
Contador carried on solo and Sky drove behind to limit his gains. Then Froome crashed on the Puerto del Torcal descent.
The television camera only caught the second one, when Froome was on his own through a right-hander.
"I saw the first crash when he went down in front of me," Nibali said. "The descent was very slippery and very dangerous.
"I kept a few meters of distance because that's my nature and thanks to that I was able to avoid it because I could have crashed as well. It was a curve to the left we were going pretty hard and when you're racing, this is just part of the sport."
The groups had no way of waiting for Froome because Contador was climbing up the classification while riding away solo. They had to continue.
Froome relied on Dutchman Wout Poels and Spaniard Mikel Nieve to pace him back and limit the damages.
"It was a quiet day until Alberto Contador attacked. He did a good ride, and gained some time on all of us," Froome said.
"In danger? Maybe, because the race is not over until we reach Madrid We have to give the best every day now.
"The Vuelta is not over, and there are a lot of big days ahead."
The race continues with stage 13 tomorrow in Tomares, where the sprinters could have one of their few chances in this 2017 edition.
Thank you for reading 20 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.
-
How to watch the Olympic cycling time trial at Paris 2024
Get all the information you need to watch the action of the men's and women's Olympic cycling time trial at Paris 2024
By Cat Glowinski Published
-
Ribble Cycles looking to capitalise on 'big summer of sport' with 30% off highly-rated models
Direct-to-consumer Ribble Cycles has always been rated highly among the Cycling Weekly tech team. This is our pick of the best Road, Gravel and E-bikes from their 'Summer Sale'
By Matt Ischt-Barnard Published
-
It's time to stop expecting so much of Ineos Grenadiers at the Tour de France
The British team are always under pressure to match their past best, but it’s not going to happen anytime soon
By Adam Becket Published
-
Tom Pidcock says Ineos Grenadiers will be 'better' at the Tour de France without Steve Cummings
Netflix series depicted tension between the DS and rider, dynamic sources told Cycling Weekly carries a degree of accuracy
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tom Pidcock 'dreaming' of taking yellow jersey on opening weekend of Tour de France
British rider hopes to play starring role in Italian Grand Départ
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'I think I'll get the opportunity to go for a stage' - Geraint Thomas relishing support role at Tour de France
Former yellow jersey winner says this year's race "could be my last"
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Carlos Rodríguez to lead Ineos Grenadiers at Tour de France, supported by Geraint Thomas and Tom Pidcock
British squad will aim to "race aggressively and disrupt" at the French Grand Tour
By Adam Becket Published
-
Chris Froome misses out on Tour de France selection
39-year-old absent from Israel-Premier Tech's eight-rider roster
By Tom Davidson Published
-
21 things you didn't know about Tom Pidcock
According to the man himself, he's never had a hangover. It's alright for some.
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tom Pidcock adds extra mountain bike race to schedule, one week before Tour de France
Pidcock confirms he will race World Cup event in Crans Montana, Switzerland ahead of Olympic title defence
By Tom Thewlis Published