Chris Froome, British cyclist for Israel-Premier Tech, four-time Tour de France winner, suffered a serious accident during training last week. It was reported that the 40-year-old was airlifted to Sainte-Anne Toulon military hospital, specialised in thoracic surgery, south of France, near Monaco, where he lives.
Now, his wife, Michelle, has told The Times how serious Froome's injuries were. He sustained five broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a lumbar vertebrae fracture in the training crash, but the worst part was found by doctors when they treated him. Froome had suffered a pericardial rupture, an injury where the sac that surrounds the heart is torn.
Thankfully, surgery was successful and he is "fine", according to Froome's wife speaking to the The Times (via BBC), but will take a long time to recovery. "He won't be riding a bike for a while. Chris is happy for you to share this because people need to understand what is going on."
Froome was still competing even at his age, and in August he finished 68th in Tour de Pologne. He has won seven Grand Tours, including four Tour de France in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017, one Giro d'Italia in 2018 and two Vuelta a España in 2011 and 2017. He last took part in Tour de France and La Vuelta in 2022 and suffered an injury at the beginning of 2025, where he broke his collarbone.