Chris Froome (Team Sky) has confirmed this morning that he is retiring from the Vuelta, due to injuries from his crash in the opening kilometres of yesterday’s stage as the race left Andorra.
The Tour de France winner fractured a bone in his foot and had been unable to stand without help. The news had been expected as last night, Froome had tweeted, “Knocked sideways into a barrier & stone wall today. Further scans in the morning but start unlikely as I can’t walk without crutches”
He confirmed the news in another tweet earlier this morning which read: “Scans this morning confirm fractured navicular. End of the Vuelta for me”
In a statement on the team’s website, Froome said, “I’m really gutted to be leaving the race but the injuries that I sustained on yesterday’s stage were too much to continue.”
“I hit my right side heavily and the main impact went on my right foot. I was desperate to dig in and finish the stage and my team-mates did brilliantly to get me through it, but as soon as I got off the bike I couldn’t put any weight on my right side.
“An MRI scan has shown that I have fractured navicular bone in my right foot, so now I’ll work with our medical team on making a full recovery.
“This is a great group of guys and I would love to have fought on with them until the end. I wish them all the best with the remainder of the race and I’ll be cheering them on from home. I’d also like to thank the fans for all their support and get well messages. I’ll be back soon!”
Team Sky Doctor Inigo Sarriegui said, “Chris came off the bike right at the start of the stage yesterday. He went into the wall and developed pain after the first climb in his right foot. He couldn’t put any pressure on it so he was basically cycling just with his left.
“After the stage we did some examinations which revealed he was very tender on his right foot around the navicular area. He had an x-ray which didn’t show up a fracture, but because he still couldn’t weight-bear we proceeded onto an MRI this morning which confirmed there was a fracture.
“Chris will go home today and the next step will be to get a specialist opinion on further treatment.”
