Froome suffers knee injury ahead of new season
Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome has been forced to delay his preparations for the 2022 season due to a knee injury.
The 36-year-old Briton revealed he damaged a tendon in his knee during pre-season training.
“I’ve just got back from doing some scans at the hospital,” Froome said. “For the last 10 days or so I’ve been getting quiteabitofpainontheoutside ofmykneewhileI’mpedalling.
“Unfortunately, I think just gettingbackintotrainingthese past couple of weeks I might have been a little bit too keen, pushing a little bit too much.
“This was after a few weeks offthebikeandmaybethebody wasn’treadytopushthathard.
"It’s flared up and caused a bit of inflammation.
“What it means is I’m going to have to take the best part of aweekoffthebikebeforestarting very gradually.
“It’s definitely a setback for me. I’m not too sure where I’m going to start the racing year and it’s going to push everything back slightly.”
Froome is no stranger to injurieshavingbrokenhisfemur, elbow, hip and ribs in a crash while training at the Criterium du Dauphine in Roanne, France, in 2019. Froome won the Tour de France in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
He returned to the race in 2021 but sustained injuries on the opening stage, going on to finish 133rd.
*Seven-time Olympic gold medallist Jason Kenny has been made a knight and his wife Laura - a five-time Olympic champion - a dame in the New Year Honours list.
Jason, 33, became the most successfulBritishOlympianat the Tokyo Games and 29-yearold Laura the joint most decorated female athlete for Team GB.