The accident that Chris Froome was a victim of was serious but could have had even worse consequences: this was revealed by the cyclist's wife, Michelle Count, in an interview with the Times.

"While operating on Chris's vertebrae, doctors detected a pericardial rupture, meaning a tear in the 'sac' surrounding the heart, and they managed to repair it. Chris crashed into a road sign at a speed of 48 km per hour and suffered very serious injuries. He is now doing well, but knows that his recovery will be long and that he won't be cycling for a while."

Froome was operated on at the Sainte-Anne Military Hospital in Toulon, the top-level trauma center in southern France, specialized in thoracic surgery.