Chris Froome was hanging on 'for dear life' after Vuelta a Espana crash
Thursday 3 September 2015 12:34, UK
Chris Froome has admitted he was hanging on “for dear life” after crashing early on stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana.
Froome fell on the first of the day's six climbs and although he continued racing, he was dropped on the fourth climb and went on to lose 7min 25sec to new race leader Fabio Aru.
The result leaves him 7min 30sec down on the Italian overall and all but ends his hopes of winning the red jersey.
Froome was limping heavily when he dismounted his bike at the end of the stage and was later taken to hospital for X-rays.
He told cyclingnews.com: "All I could do was ride at my own speed after the crash. I'm in quite a lot of pain at the moment."
"I'm going to get checked up by the medical staff and take it from there.
"That crash did take quite a lot out of me. From then on I just tried to hang on for dear life. I convinced myself just to get to the finish."
Froome's demise leaves Mikel Nieve as Team Sky's best-placed rider at the race, 1min 58sec down on Aru in eighth.
