Britain’s Chris Broome is out of the Tour De France after sustaining “multiple serious injuries” in a freak high-speed accident.
The Iconic 34-year-old rider’s dream of a fifth Tour de France title was shattered when a gust of wind caught his front wheel, hurtling him into the wall towards the end of a ‘recon’ before the Criterium’s fourth stage time trial at the Criterium du Dauphine. He was immediately airlifted to Saint- Etienne University hospital for surgery and treatment.
Team Ineos said in a statement, “Chris Froome sustained multiple serious injuries during a recon of stage four of the Criterium du Dauphine. He crashed towards the end of his route recon in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, sustaining injuries including a fractured right femur, a fractured elbow, and fractured ribs. He will miss Tour De France in 2019.”
Dave Brailsford, the Ineos General Manager said, “He is not in great shape and he is in the intensive care unit. There are crashes and bad crashes. This was a bad crash. It is a very serious accident. “
The unfortunate incident took place on a narrow descent through the village of Saint-Andre d’Apchon in the Loire region and it is estimated that he would have been riding at 60 km/hr (38mph).
