Froome's penalties during his recovery: “The hardest thing was learning to walk again”

The tetracampen of the Tour, which has returned to competition in the Emirates, offers juicy details of its eight months off.

The second stage of the Tour of Arab Emirates was not conducive to Chris Froome, who gave up almost four minutes in the goal with respect to the favorite squad, headed by Caleb Ewan (Lotto). Accelerations in the harsh terrain that leads to Dubai left without force the cudruple winner of the Tour, still in the process of recovery after its three operations and eight months off.

Since that lasts each in the Criterium Dauphin, with fractures of fmur, elbow and ribs, Froome had to face a prolonged rehabilitation. “It was very complicated. After several weeks in bed and others in a wheelchair, just walking was already strange,” reveals the Ineos corridor.

“There were tougher aspects to reassemble. Actually, it was simple and natural on the bicycle, but walking again was by far the most difficult part of my recovery,” recalls Froome, 34, about those first two months.

Pool Relief

The complications did not end even after the second operation, which he underwent in November. An allergic reaction to the staples that were placed in internal tissues caused an infection. “At the mental level it was also very demanding, especially when you can hardly walk and return to the competition is so far away,” the British told cyclingnews Y The times.

Interestingly, the best memory of Froome after all these hardships has nothing to do with the bicycle. “Being able to swim in the pool was a great milestone because I could stay active. Until that time it was very difficult for me to do anything else,” said the Nairobi-born runner.