Froome "happy to be no more hurt", his fall lived in the heart of the pack

Victim of a fall about six kilometers from the finish of the first stage of the Tour de France in Fontenay-le-Comte (Vendée), the British Chris Froome was " happy to be no more hurt than that ", he said this Saturday.

" We knew that these first days would be complex, but that's part of the game unfortunately. the riders wish to be ahead in the peloton in these arrivals, to be in the first third.The guys (from his Sky team, Ed) could not do much more "explained Chris Froome, knee and elbow rights marked by the fall with a few scratches

Chris Froome was in the middle of the pack when he fell on the grbad. He arrived at his bus with the jersey torn at the right shoulder.

" It was a little chaotic, with a lot of sprinters, but it's the bike race I'm just happy not to be hurt anymore, there is still a long way to go until the arrival in Paris ", he added, relieved despite the loss of 51 seconds.

Bleached there has a week in the anti-doping procedure against him since September 2017, Chris Froome was authorized by the organizers of the Tour de France to appear at the start. He is aiming for a fifth crown on the Great Loop after 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017.