Chris Froome 'relieved to be heading home' from hospital after serious training crash

Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome has returned home from the hospital, eight days after sustaining several injuries in a serious training crash.

Froome announced that his stay at the HIA Sainte Anne in Toulon had come to a relieving end via his social media on Friday, alongside a picture of him holding hands with his daughter.

"Relieved to be heading home from the hospital today," read Froome's caption. "Thanks to the staff at the HIA Sainte Anne."

The Brit crashed and was airlifted to hospital on August 28, with his team, Israel-Premier Tech, updating initial reports and stating that "scans have confirmed a pneumothorax, five broken ribs, and a lumbar vertebrae fracture," for which he then had surgery.

His wife, Michelle, later revealed to The Times that during surgery the doctors in France also discovered that Froome had suffered a life-threatening injury during the crash, tearing the sac that surrounds the heart – the pericardium – as a result of the impact.

"It was obviously a lot more serious than some broken bones," Michelle Froome 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."

The Sainte-Anne hospital specialises in thoracic surgery and repaired the injury to Froome's heart during surgery. Israel-Premier Tech later confirmed that Froome was in "good spirits" after the procedures went as planned.

While the 40-year-old's season is, of course, over, as he begins the long road to recovery, he's continued to express his desire to race past 2025, but his current contract with Israel-Premier Tech will expire on December 31. His last race was at the Tour de Pologne, where he finished 68th.

Froome is one of the most decorated riders of all time and dominated GC fields throughout the 2010s, notching up four yellow jersey wins at the Tour de France, two overall titles at the Vuelta a España and a completed Grand Tour set with victory at the 2018 Giro d'Italia.