Recovering Chris Froome reveals 'plans in the pipeline' after third surgery, attends 2026 Vuelta a Espana launch event
Published 17/12/2025 at 22:23 GMT
Chris Froome recovered sufficiently from a third surgery arising from his recent serious crash in a solo training accident to attend a launch event for the 2026 Vuelta a Espana. The seven-time Grand Tour winner says he will give details on his future plans in the coming months, but added he had been prioritising his recovery. Live coverage of the 2026 Vuelta will be on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Official route for the 2026 Vuelta a Espana
Video credit: TNT Sports
Former NSN rider Chris Froome has said he has "plans in the pipeline" as he looks ahead to the 2026 season following a harrowing 2025.
The 40-year-old suffered a serious crash in a solo training accident in August, suffering a pneumothorax, five fractured ribs and a lumbar vertebrae break, and was speaking the day after his discharge from hospital following a third surgery arising from the incident, at the launch event for the 2026 Vuelta a Espana.
He has left NSN, named Israel-PremierTech for 2025 before next year’s rebrand, and is yet to announce if he will be riding for another team next year.
Speaking at the launch event, he gave an update on his fitness, saying: "Thankfully I'm on my feet again, but it's been a tricky last few months.
"I just got out of hospital from the third surgery yesterday, but I'm grateful to be standing on my feet again and, hopefully, put this last injury behind me."
Discussing the mental strength required to come back from yet another injury, he added: "I think that's part of being a professional cyclist. It's really learning how to deal with setbacks, and just get on with it. It's life as a professional cyclist.
"You're going to crash at some point, you're going to get injured at some point. It's how you deal with it that really matters."
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Looking to the next part of his career, the seven-time Grand Tour winner said he had been prioritising his rehabilitation rather than looking to future riding opportunities, but did say that he had some news to announce in the relatively near future.
Froome said: "Certainly the last few months, I've just been focused on my recovery, getting to this point that I can be here with you today. I've got some plans in the pipeline, and I'll share that with everyone in the coming months."
Froome was speaking at an event to launch the Vuelta, which starts on Saturday, August 22, next year - it will be live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
The first stage will start in Monaco with a time trial, and represents the third successive opening stage that begins outside Spain.
The tour then moves towards the Pyrenees and then Valencia, with the final two weeks taking place in southern Spain.
The last five years have seen the route end in the Spanish capital, Madrid, but 2026 sees the finale relocated.
Granada will be the last stage of the Grand Tour, after the planned final three stages were moved away from the Canary Islands.
Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) will likely be seen as the leading contender for the 2026 edition, with four triumphs to his name already. A fifth win would give him the record for most victories in the Vuelta.
The current Vuelta a Espana champion is Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), who won the 2025 edition of the race.
Watch and stream the 2026 cycling season live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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