Chris Froome suffered life-threatening heart injury in training crash
The four-time Tour de France winner has undergone successful surgery on a pericardial rupture sustained in a crash in southern France last week.
Chris Froome suffered a life-threatening heart injury in the training crash that saw him airlifted to hospital in southern France last week.
Michelle Froome told The Times that her husband sustained a pericardial rupture – a tear to the sac that surrounds the heart – in the crash, which occurred when he clipped a curb while training near his home in Monaco.
“It was obviously a lot more serious than some broken bones,” she told The Times. “He’s fine but it’s going to be a long recovery process. 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 airlifted to hospital in Toulon following the crash, which took place near Saint-Raphaël. He underwent surgery to repair the heart injury at Sainte-Anne hospital in Toulon, which specialises in thoracic surgery.
Last week, Froome’s Israel Premier Tech squad had announced that Froome had also suffered a collapsed lung, five broken ribs and a lumbar vertebrae fracture in the crash.
Froome’s 2025 season is over, and it is unclear if he will race again, given that his contract with Israel Premier Tech was due to expire at the end of this year.
Froome has indicated that he will start a foundation to help the development cycling in Africa when he retires from racing.
“My contract is expiring, and I don’t know if I’ll continue or not,” Froome told BiciPro recently. “But certainly, when I stop, as I already said, I want to start a cycling school in Africa.”
