Chris Froome crash: Ineos rider conscious after successful six-hour operation on multiple injuries

Froome was airlifted to a local hospital before being transferred to a specialist unit in St Etienne, where he remains in intensive care

Chris Froome is conscious and talking in hospital after a successful six-hour operation on the multiple injuries he suffered in a crash at the Criterium du Dauphine on Wednesday.

Froome slammed into a wall after losing control of his bike during a reconnaissance ride of the day’s time trial around Roanne in central France, and was airlifted to a local hospital before being transferred to a specialist unit in St Etienne, where he remains in intensive care.

Team Ineos revealed the 34-year-old had fractured his femur bone, as well as sustaining fractures to his elbow and ribs. The team’s general manager, Sir Dave Brailsford, said it would be “a long time” before Froome is seen racing again.

Froome underwent surgery on wounds which were described as “open”. The team doctor, Richard Usher, said: “First things first, the surgery was a success. The operation, which lasted for six hours, went very well.

“Chris woke up this morning and was reviewed by the intensive care consultants and the orthopaedic specialist who operated on him and they’re both very happy with his progress to date.

“Chris will remain in hospital for the next few days for observation, but he is already actively engaging in discussing his rehabilitation options, which is very encouraging.

“As he begins his road to recovery, the team will now only be providing further updates at a stage where it is necessary to do so.”

Froome’s wife, Michelle, is with him in hospital but Brailsford remains occupied at the Dauphine and has not been able to visit his star rider.

Witnesses said Froome took a moment to blow his nose while travelling at around 60kph on a downhill section of road when a gust of wind swept out his wheel, and he lay still for several minutes after the initial impact.

“I keep seeing it,” Irish rider Dan Martin, who saw the crash first hand, told cyclingnews. “It’s horrible to see something like that as well. Me and Neil [Stephens, UAE Team Emirates director] caught them just before the top of the climb and we didn’t want to mess up their recon so we stayed behind them on the recon and didn’t want to get in the way.

Then it happened. We stopped. Neil and I looked at each other in stunned silence and just stood there for 20 seconds, just shaking. I stayed by the team car and we asked if there was anything we could do but I thought it could have been much worse. I thought he could have been dead. To see something like that isn’t pleasant.

“He blew his nose, the wind caught him and then he veered out in front of the team car. We didn’t see what happened but we saw him hit the wall. He didn’t have any chance to lose any speed. We didn’t want to say anything yesterday out of respect for Chris and his family. It was up to Ineos to say what they needed.

“Refocusing after that was not an easy task. I was thinking about it last night and I’m still replaying it in my head. It’s very, very unpleasant.”

Froome will now begin a long period of recuperation which will see him miss the Tour de France, which starts on 6 July and which his season had been geared towards. Last year’s winner, Geraint Thomas, is set to lead Team Ineos in Froome’s absence.