Bloemfontein – Defending champion Chris Froome’s abandonment of the Tour de France comes as a big blow for the Sky Team, however, they said they expected it.

The 2013 Champion had a heavy fall on Tuesday, which saw him battling on the cobbled road with a wrist in splits.

As if one fall is bad enough, the Kenyan-born cyclist fell a few times during yesterday’s stage from Ypres in Belgium and eventually saw him withdrawing from the event.

The cyclist who was schooled for a short while at St. Andrew’s School in Bloemfontein, conceded that the pain from Tuesday’s crash caused him to fall.

He went on to say it was bitterly disappointing having to withdraw.

Today’s sixth stage sees the cyclist ride 194km from Arras to Reims.