Chris Froome out of the Tour de France after Breaking Leg

Chris Froome was admitted to hospital after a crash during a recon ride at the Criterium du Dauphine and sustained a broken Femur, ending his race and participation in the 2019 Tour de France

It has been confirmed that 34-year-old may has sustained a fractured femur.

Quote from Brailsford - “He crashed in the downhill section of the course at high speed. He hit a wall. It’s a very serious accident. Clearly, he won’t be at the start of the Tour de France. It’ll take quite a long time before he races again.”

The news of Froome's crash was released by Team Ineos on Wednesday morning in a short statement that said:

The news comes as a huge blow to the four-time Tour de France Champion, who had looked in decent form in the opening three stages of the Dauphine as his preparations continued for the 2019 Tour de France, where he was expected to be joint team leader with defending champion Geraint Thomas.

However, Froome's participation in the Grand Tour must now be in serious doubt as we await a further update on the severity of his injuries, with the Tour set to start on July 6, less than four weeks away.

Froome’s crash came towards the end of his recon of Wednesday's 26.1km time trial course, a stage that was expected to see him challenge for the overall lead of the Dauphine.

With Thomas expected to race at the Tour de Suisse next week and Egan Bernal on the road to recovery after an injury that ruled him out of the Giro d'Italia, Froome faced some serious competition for the lead role at Ineos in this year's Tour de France.

But all indications were that Froome had done enough to be Ineos' unofficial leader at the Tour, ahead of both Thomas and Bernal, as he aimed for an historic fifth title. Team director Dave Brailsford appeared to confirm as much when he said this week:

"We're going to do all we can to support Chris in his bid to win a fifth Tour, to cement his place in history and join the exclusive club of five-time winners. Sport is full of history and legends. We have to try and do great things, but we also have other riders to manage, too, like Geraint and Egan."