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CHRIS FROOME

Foot fracture forces Chris Froome to withdraw from the Tour of Spain

Tour de France winner Chris Froome has become the latest high-profile casualty in Spain's Vuelta after withdrawing before the start of Thursday's 12th stage due to a broken bone in his foot.

Published: 3 September 2015 11:50 CEST
Foot fracture forces Chris Froome to withdraw from the Tour of Spain
Chris Froome is out of the Tour of Spain. Photo: Jose Jordan/AFP

“Scans this morning confirm fractured navicular. End of the Vuelta for me,” Froome posted on his official Twitter account.

Froome's hopes of becoming just the third man to win the Tour and the Vuelta in the same year were realistically ended on Wednesday as he injured his foot whilst crashing on the daunting mountainous 138km ride through Andorra and fell over seven minutes behind general classification leader Fabio Aru.

The 30-year-old was hoping to emulate Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil (1963) and Bernard Hinault (1978) by completing the Tour-Vuelta double and was very much in contention before Wednesday's stage, dubbed as one the hardest in the Vuelta's 80-year history with four category one and a special category climb.

Froome got off to the worst possible start, though, as a crash early in the day left him needing crutches to walk at the end of the stage.

“Knocked sideways into a barrier and stone wall today. Further scans in the morning but start unlikely as I can't walk without crutches,” he posted on Twitter on Wednesday.

“Really appreciate all the messages of support, I did my best to hang in there today as best I could with the hope of continuing.”

Froome's withdrawal is the latest blow for the tour organisers in a race that has been mired by dangerous crashes and controversy.

The team time trial on the first stage didn't count towards the overall classification as it was deemed too dangerous.

Italian Vincenzo Nibali, one of just six men to have won all three Grand Tours, was then disqualified on the second stage for being towed by his Astana team car.

Belgian rider Kris Boeckmans remains in an induced coma after a serious crash on the eighth stage, which also forced general classification contenders Dan Martin and Tejay van Garderen to retire.

On the same day, stage three winner Peter Sagan was run over by an auxiliary motorcycle forcing him to withdraw and bringing a stinging response from his Tinkoff-Saxo team.

Tinkoff-Saxo were further incensed when another one of their riders, Sergio Paulinho, was also forced to retire after being hit by a TV motorcycle on Wednesday.

Oleg Tinkoff, the Russian entrepreneur who owns the team, has even threatened to withdraw from the race in protest at the safety provided to riders by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) who run the event.

“I'm considering now to take the team off the #Vuelta2015 . Boycott #ASO for this. They pay us NO money for the race and even damage riders,” he posted on Twitter.

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TOUR DE FRANCE

Tour de France formally block Chris Froome over drug suspicion

Tour de France organisers have formally blocked four-time champion Chris Froome from competing in this year's race, Le Monde reported on Sunday, but he is expected to fight the move.

Published: 1 July 2018 14:21 CEST
Tour de France formally block Chris Froome over drug suspicion
Froome, shown at least year's Tour de France, insists he's done nothing wrong. Photo: Jeff Pachoud/AFP
The Team Sky star has been under a cloud since he was found to have twice the permissible amount of asthma drug Salbutamol in his system during September's Vuelta a Espana, which he won.
 
Five-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault, who worked for the Tour organisation for many years, called for the peloton to strike if the British rider lines up at the start of this year's event next Saturday.
 
Froome responded on Wednesday that he will compete in this year's race.
 
Cyclingnews.com quoted Team Sky as responding to Sunday's report that they are “confident that Chris will be riding the Tour as we know he has done nothing wrong.”
 
A final decision on the organisers' attempt to prevent the Kenyan-born Briton from taking part is expected to be made by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, which is to make a ruling Tuesday, Le Monde said after the last-ditch bid to exclude him.
 
Technically, while Froome awaits the result of an ongoing investigation into his Salbutamol case, he can still ride on the Tour.
 
ASO, the organisers of the iconic Tour, refused to comment on the report although AFP has had confirmation of information they say backs their view that the defending champion should not be allowed to race.
 
According to the letter of the rules, Froome is authorised to ride until a final decision from the anti-doping tribunal of the International Cycling Union regarding his ongoing case.
 
Le Monde says Froome will not necessarily attend Tuesday's meeting by the French committee with their ruling due Wednesday. He is to be defended by British sports lawyer Mike Morgan, a French speaker, before the UCI tribunal.
 
Sky, ASO and the French Olympic Committee will each choose an arbiter to decide whether Froome should be allowed to start the Tour.
 
According to Tour statutes, organisers may ban a rider or a team if their presence is seen as liable to damage the image or reputation of the organisers or the event.
 
Team Sky have yet to unveil their eight-strong team.
 
Froome, who denies wrongdoing, is out to emulate five-time winners Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.