CHRIS FROOME’S horror crash left rival Dan Martin fearing he was DEAD.
As shocking details of the 37mph smash in France emerged, Martin said: “We saw him hit the wall.
“He didn’t have any chance to lose any speed. I thought he could have been dead.”
UAE Team Emirates rider Martin, in a car behind Froome as he warmed up for Wednesday’s Criterium du Dauphine time trial, added: “I keep seeing it. It’s horrible to see something like that.
“We stopped. Neil Stephens (the UAE Team director) and I looked at each other in stunned silence and just stood there for 20 seconds, just shaking.
“I’m still replaying it in my head. It’s very unpleasant.
“It just shows how dangerous cycling can be.”
Four-times Tour de France champ Froome faces a fight to save his career after six hours of surgery on his injuries.
He will remain in intensive care for the next few days after breaking a leg, hip, elbow and ribs.
Froome, who slammed into a wall at high speed after trying to blow his nose, is understood to have skewered his quad muscle, losing 2½ pints of blood.
It is believed he had a metal rod inserted into his leg during surgery.
The 34-year-old was conscious last night, talking with his wife, Michelle, and already discussing his potential rehab.
Doctors have even tipped him to make an astonishing return within six months – although serious doubts remain over whether Froome can compete at the highest level again.
Chief surgeon Remi Philippot said: “The surgery was carried out as a semi-emergency to try to avoid any early complications that can develop from that sort of trauma.
“Now recovery is going to be long. Roughly speaking, you are looking at a minimum of six months out of competition.
“The objective is not just about getting back on the bike, but on rehabilitating himself for the future.
“On a sporting level, he will need to make an exceptional recovery with the mental capacity required to then get fit again.”
Team Ineos boss Dave Brailsford said: “He’s being very well looked after.
“We’ll keep monitoring the situation and see how it develops.
“For now, let’s just concentrate on getting him through today, and then tomorrow et cetera, and see how this situation develops.
“The first thing is to get that first stabilisation, that first phase of medical surgery done and then go into the recovery process.”
Froome did receive one boost yesterday when it was revealed he could be declared the winner of the 2011 Vuelta a Espana – giving him a seventh Grand Tour victory.
Race winner Juan Jose Cobo of Spain has been found guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, although he may now appeal.
