Tour de France winner airlifted to French hospital after crash

Chris Froome, Four-Times Tour de France winner

Four-times Tour de France winner Chris Froome was airlifted to hospital in Toulon after suffering a training crash which left him with broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a back fracture, his team Israel-Premier Tech said on Thursday.

The Briton’s team said the 40-year-old suffered the crash on Wednesday but no other cyclists or vehicles were involved.

“Fortunately, Chris is stable and did not sustain any head injuries,” a statement on social media said.

“However, scans have confirmed a pneumothorax, five broken ribs, and a lumbar vertebrae fracture, for which he will undergo surgery this afternoon.”

Froome has won seven Grand Tours which also include two Vuelta a Espana victories and one in the Giro d’Italia.

But the Olympic medallist has been nowhere near his best form since suffering serious injuries in a horrific high-speed crash during training for the Criterium du

Dauphine in 2019.

He spent more than three weeks in hospital after fracturing his neck, femur, elbow, hip and ribs when he crashed into a wall at high speed while training.

Last year he said he had dreams of competing in the Tour de France one last time before retiring.

However, he suffered a broken collarbone in a crash during the final stage of the UAE Tour earlier this year and was not picked in the squad for this year’s Tour.