It’s been a busy and successful summer for Chris Froome, who took second in the Tour de France, third in the Olympic time trial and then fourth in the Vuelta a España, all in the space of two and a half months.
However the Briton appeared to be fatiguing as the Vuelta went on, starting strongly but losing pace in the final mountain stages. That tiredness has now led him to withdraw from Wednesday’s world time trial championships, a race he’d otherwise have the chance of netting a medal in, or perhaps even the win.
British cycling has confirmed that the 27 year old rider feels that he needed more time to recover from the Vuelta, which finished just over a week ago. He’ll consequently only ride the road race on Sunday.
Froome’s withdrawal from the time trial means that there will be just one entrant from the British team on Wednesday. National champion Alex Dowsett will compete in the 45.7 kilometre event.