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Chris Froome out of Tour de France after crashing twice in wet conditions on stage five

Christopher Froome grimaces as he gets up after a third consecutive crash in two days prior to abandoning the race during stage five of the Tour de France
Image: Chris Froome has been forced to withdraw from the Tour de France

Chris Froome is out of the Tour de France after crashing twice in wet conditions on Wednesday's fifth stage.

The Team Sky rider initially fell about 30km into the stage and then slid off again on treacherous roads with about 69km remaining.

He immediately began holding his right arm and although he initially tried to take hold of his bike, he soon began shaking his head and subsequently climbed into the Team Sky car.

Froome was already feeling the effects of a crash on stage four 24 hours earlier, when he fell heavily and injured his left wrist.

Agony

He tweeted: "Devastated to have to withdraw from this year's TDF. Injured wrist and tough conditions made controlling my bike near to impossible."

Stage five had been marked out as potentially the most dangerous day in the race due to the fact it contained 13km of cobblestones split over seven sections, but ironically, it was on smooth tarmac where both of Froome's crashes took place.

When you have a day like today, when you have a setback, you have got to roll with it, you recalibrate your goals and you go again.
Sir Dave Brailsford

Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford added: “It is disappointing, particularly for Chris. It goes to show why the Tour de France hasn’t been retained for quite some time. It’s not an easy thing to do.

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“When you have a day like today, when you have a setback, you have got to roll with it, you recalibrate your goals and you go again. You might take a punch but you get up and go again."

Two Britons left

Froome's exit means Richie Porte will take over leadership of Team Sky, while Vincenzo Nibali is now in pole position to win the race after gaining more than two minutes on his main rivals on the stage.

It is also another major blow to British interest in the race after Mark Cavendish was forced to abandon following a crash on Saturday's opening stage in Harrogate.

There are now only two Britons left in the race, with Froome's Team Sky team-mate Geraint Thomas being joined by Orica-GreenEdge's Simon Yates.

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