Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome suffered life-threatening injuries in his serious training accident on 27 August. His wife Michelle explained this to the British daily newspaper "The Times". After colliding with a road sign at high speed, he suffered a ruptured pericardium, a fractured lumbar vertebrae and five broken ribs. A pericardial tear describes the rupture of the pericardium, which can lead to a pericardial effusion (fluid build-up), or the rupture of a ventricle or artery that allows blood to seep into the pericardium. The tear in the sac surrounding the heart is a life-threatening injury that was only discovered during the operation.
Chris Froome crashes into traffic sign
Michelle Froome said her husband was lucky to be near the specialist trauma centre in Toulon when he crashed. Froome was airlifted to the Sainte Anne Toulon military hospital after he drove over a kerb at more than 30 kilometres per hour and collided head-on with a road sign. "It was obviously much more serious than a few broken bones," she told The Times. "He's fine, but it's going to be a long recovery process. He won't be able to ride his bike for a while. Chris is glad you're sharing this because people need to understand what's going on," she is quoted as saying by the Times.
Chris Froome threatens to end his career
In a statement last week, Froome's team, Israel-Premier Tech, announced that initial examinations had revealed that Chris Froome had suffered a pneumothorax (a collapsed lung), five broken ribs and a fractured lumbar vertebra. The injury was already considered so serious that it would mean a premature end to the season and possibly also the end of his professional career, especially as, according to media reports, a contract extension beyond 31 December has not yet been promised.
Reminder of accident 2019
Chris Froome is one of the most successful Driver in the history of cycling. In addition to his four Tour victories, he won the Vuelta twice (2011 and 2017) and the Giro d'Italia once (2018). Froome crashed heavily in 2019 in the run-up to the Tour during a route inspection for the time trial at the Critérium du Dauphiné. At the time, he crashed into a wall at 55 km/h. He suffered several broken bones, and his ribs and hips were also badly affected. After the operation, he spent some time in intensive care. After this accident, he was never able to regain his former success.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
