Last Wednesday morning Chris Froome and the Team Ineos squad arrived in the outskirts of the French commune of Roanne.
After three days of dreary rain the sun was finally out and the mood appeared relaxed as staff set up bikes and gave the equipment one final inspection. There was nothing to warn of the traumas to come.
June’s Criterium du Dauphine is France’s second most prestigious stage race after the Tour de France, and Froome — a three-time winner of the week-long event — came into the race in superb form after a subdued start to the season. But the significant litmus test for his form always lay in Wednesday’s stage four time-trial.
Chris Froome has insisted he is 'on the road to recovery' following his horror crash
Froome was pictured with his hands off the handlebars minutes before the crash
Froome had a late time-trial start time of 3.44pm and before the first rider sets off in a time-trial the roads are open for the entire field to recon the route.
According to directeur sportif, Servais Knaven, Froome had not ridden the Roanne time-trial in training and had only studied the profile through maps. Viewing the route in person and on the bike was a crucial part of preparation.
As the buzz around the start line began to intensify, the Team Ineos riders clambered down the steps of the team bus. Dutch rider Wout Poels chatted to a team mechanic about some last-minute changes, Dylan van Baarle marvelled over the slick new paint job his Pinarello time-trial bike had received, before Froome himself came out.
With him and Poels starting the time-trial just minutes apart, it was decided they would ride the course together and they were the last two riders to leave the paddock. As he soft-pedalled away, Froome flashed a smile to some of the local fans.
Roughly an hour later the first whisperings of a crash began to filter through. Normally there’s an immediate sense as to whether an incident is serious or not.
Froome made his way at speed through the French village road on Wednesday morning
He was hit by a strong gust of wind and veered off the road and into a wall outside a house
Blood or oil stains could mark the spot where Froome lay for two hours following his crash
It could be down to the tone of someone’s voice or their look as they provide the details, but as information began to come to light it was clear that Froome had suffered a serious fall.
Towards the end of his ride, and, on what is an innocuous stretch of road, Froome took a hand from his handlebars to clear his nose.
Froome and Poels had just reached the point where the main descent on the route started to bottom out.
They were still travelling at speed but until that point the wind had been relatively calm. The pair had just left a sheltered part of the course at the exact moment Froome chose to raise his hand.
Within a blink of an eye a strong gust of wind took away his control and without dropping any speed Froome slammed into a wall. His bike
