Morning MRI will decide Froome's Vuelta a Espana fate
Sky leader's general classification hopes are dashed as he loses nearly nine minutes after stage 11 crash
Chris Froome's chances of finishing the Vuelta a Espana hang in the balance as the rider is set to undergo further medical tests Thursday morning. Team Sky's Tour de France winner crashed early on stage 11 and despite returning to the peloton after a long chase, he was dropped well before the final climb.
His overall ambitions are all but over after he conceded close to nine minutes on the stage and now sits 15th overall behind race leader Fabio Aru (Astana).
Team Sky confirmed to Cyclingnews that Froome had undergone medical tests this evening with x-rays carried out – although they did not specify whether the tests related to his injured shoulder, which appeared to take the brunt of his fall.
Cyclingnews has learnt that Froome will rest up this evening before having a further MRI scan in the morning. Dave Brailsford told Cyclingnews that "Chris is in a lot of pain when weight bearing and we will take a final decision in the morning."
Although the stage was a huge disappointment for Froome, Team Sky's Ian Boswell finished a highly impressive third behind stage winner Mikel Landa and Aru. The team’s overall ambitions now rest on the shoulders of Mikel Nieve, who sits 8th overall, 1:58 behind Aru.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.