Chris Froome Injured, out of 2019 Tour de France After 'Very Serious Accident'

Chris Froome will miss the 2019 Tour de France after being involved in a "very serious" crash.

Froome crashed prior to Stage 4 of the Criterium du Dauphine on Wednesday, and his team principal Dave Brailsford said he suffered a significant injury that will rule him out of the upcoming spectacle, per BBC Sport.

"He crashed in the downhill section of the course at high speed," Brailsford said. "He hit a wall. It'll take quite a long time before he races again. The ambulance came quickly. He's been taken care of and waits for a helicopter to be transferred to Lyon or Saint-Etienne. It's a very serious accident. Clearly, he won't be at the start of the Tour de France."

The 34-year-old was set to challenge for a record-equalling fifth Tour de France victory this year as part of Team Ineos.

BBC Sport added Froome reportedly suffered a broken femur.

The four-time Tour winner's Twitter account provided an update:

Cycling journalist Neal Rogers said it wouldn't be a surprise if the season was over for Froome given the nature of his injuries: 

The Briton had been in eighth place after three days at the Criterium, one of the most prestigious of the preparation events for the Tour.

In 2018, Froome went into the Tour seeking to add to his Giro D'Italia and Vuelta de Espana wins, although he was eventually beaten by team-mate Gareth Thomas and finished third overall. 

The injury for Froome means Thomas will now likely be the sole leader of the Ineos team.

Sports journalist Lars Pollmann is expecting more responsibility to be put on the shoulders of Egan Bernal, who excelled as a domestique to Froome and Thomas a year ago:

The Tour will start in Brussels, Belgium, on July 6, with the winner of the yellow jersey to be confirmed in Paris on July 28.