The four-time Tour de France champion returns to cycling after a career-threatening accident: “A difficult road back”

The four-time Tour de France champion is back on the bike after a serious accident forced him to be airlifted to a hospital.

Chris Froome suffered serious injuries in a “serious training accident” in August and was taken to a hospital in Toulon, France.

Froome suffered a collapsed lung, five broken ribs and a fractured lumbar vertebra that put his cycling career in jeopardy.

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Chris Froome celebrates at the Tour de France. (Tim de Waele/Corbis via Getty Images)

Froome posted on social media that he would ride again.

“It’s been a tough road back after my last accident but it feels so good to finally be here spinning and on the road again,” Froome wrote with a selfie on Instagram. “Every setback teaches you something… this one reminded me to slow down, heal and enjoy the simple things in life.”

Froome first won the Tour de France in 2013. He then won three in a row after losing in 2014, becoming the first cyclist to defend the title since Lance Armstrong before his seven wins were taken away.

Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome suffered numerous injuries in a “serious” accident in August. (Tim De Waele/Corbis via Getty Images)

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Froome’s last victory was at the Giro d’Italia in 2018. He also won the Vuelta a España twice, in 2011 and 2017, rounding out his four Tour triumphs: the first in 2013, followed by a hat trick of titles between 2015 and 2017.

Froome, 40, never returned to his previous best after a crash in training at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné, an event he used to fine-tune his bid for a record-equalling fifth Tour title. In the accident he broke his right femur, elbow and ribs.

Britain’s Christopher Froome rides during the 32-kilometer individual time trial and stage 17 of the 100th edition of the Tour de France on July 17, 2013, between Embrun and Chorges, southeastern France. (Jeff Pachoud/News via Getty Images)

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Froome has signed with Israel-Premier Tech since 2021, but his career could be in danger as the contract expires soon combined with this accident.

The News contributed to this report.

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