Tour de France: Race of survival for Chris Froome after stage 1 crash

Chris Froome’s return to the Tour de France was not the one he might have wanted.

The four-time champion, who is racing the Grand Boucle for the first time since 2018, hit the deck hard in the second of two major crashes that marked the first day of racing.

The first was caused by a fan stood on the side of the road, while the second was a high-speed incident after what appeared to be a touch of wheels inside the peloton.

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Froome could be seen sitting on the tarmac for some time and looked to be in some discomfort as he finally got to his feet. He went straight to hospital after finishing the stage more than 14 minutes down, and was cleared of any fractures.

However, Froome is still pretty banged up, and after a late return to his team hotel Sunday morning, the coming days are about survival for the Israel Start-Up Nation rider.

“That was definitely a bit of a crazy stage. One moment it was fine and heading towards the finish in the last 10k and then 60-70kph I think there was a touch of wheels somewhere in the peloton and there was carnage. I think there were probably 50 riders on the floor,” Froome said.

https://twitter.com/TeamIsraelSUN/status/1409067597702828035?s=20

“Unfortunately, there was nowhere for me to go, I just braked as hard as I could but I still just crashed into the back of the guys that had crashed in front of me. I hit my left side pretty hard, my left leg, and also the chest.

“I went for scans last night, I spent the whole evening in the hospital and got back at 1 am but it’s all good. No fractures, but a lot of swelling and a lot of bruising. So, I’m pretty sore this morning but I’m going to try and get through today and try to survive today’s stage and hope that over the coming days it starts to feel better.”

Froome was not the only Israel Start-Up Nation rider caught up in the various incidents with his teammate Reto Hollenstein also heading to the hospital for further check-ups after hitting his chest. The Swiss man was also cleared of any broken bones.

Team leader Michael Woods also crashed but escaped any serious injuries. However, serious damage was done to his overall GC hopes as he lost nearly nine minutes in the carnage, and he will have to reassess his race already.