'Really disappointed' - Chris Froome out of Tour de France with Covid, teases Vuelta comeback

ByBen Snowball

Updated 21/07/2022 at 11:50 GMT

Despite his positive Covid test, Chris Froome leaves the Tour de France with fond memories after an impressive third place on Alpe d’Huez – his first top 10 finish since suffering career-threatening injuries in a horror crash in 2019. Froome was 26th in the general classification, one hour and 27 minutes down on Jonas Vingegaard in the yellow jersey.

Chris Froome (Israel Premier-Tech) has withdrawn from the Tour de France after testing positive for Covid.

The four-time champion pulled out ahead of Stage 18 in the Pyrenees.

Froome, 37, finished third on Stage 12 atop the iconic Alpe d’Huez in his brightest performance since a horror crash in 2019 left him with career-threatening injuries.

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"I'm really disappointed to not be able to roll into Paris and finish off this Tour de France," said Froome.

"It's been an extremely special race for us as a team and for me personally.

"I've really been finding my legs again and I just want to thank everyone for all the support through this process."

Froome's bid for a Grand Tour stage win in 2022 is not over yet, with La Vuelta next on his hit list.

"I'm going to head home, switch off for a few days and refocus on being ready for the Vuelta later this season," he added.

Froome was pushing for a top 20 finish in the general classification, although he was almost 90 minutes down on Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) in the yellow jersey.

Stage 12 highlights: Pidcock soars, Froome stars, Vingegaard fends off Pogacar

After his Stage 12 heroics, Froome said there is now "nothing holding him back" as he strives to get back to his best.

"These past five, six months, were probably the only five six months in the last three years that I've been able to work uninterrupted with no pain, no injuries, nothing," Froome said in an interview with Reuters.

"Nothing holding me back. So I'm still seeing improvements, seeing progressions and as long as I'm seeing these improvements, I'm going to keep working.

"I don't know how far I'm going to get and if I'm going to get to my old level but one thing is for sure I'm going to work as hard as I can.

"And as long as I see these improvements, I'm going to keep the dream alive and keep working for it."

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