Chris Froome update: Ineos rider back on a bike five weeks after crash as he is awarded 2011 Vuelta title

Despite still being some months away from competing again, the 34-year-old has shown a surprisingly swift improvement in his condition

Chris Froome was back on a bike pedalling with one leg only five weeks after the high-speed crash which left him in intensive care with a fractured neck, femur and ribcage.

Froome was airlifted to hospital in St Etienne after slamming into a wall at around 50km/hr during a reconnaissance ride at the Criterium du Dauphine in June.

The Team Ineos rider was immediately ruled out of the Tour de France with a long road of rehabilitation ahead, but despite still being some months away from competing again, the 34-year-old has shown a surprisingly swift improvement in his condition.

“He’s doing really well,” said Team Ineos principal Dave Brailsford, speaking from the Tour in Toulouse. “He has actually sat on his bike and pedalled with one leg which is quite remarkable. He’s making steady progress which is great news.”

Although the crash denied Froome the chance to win his fifth Tour de France, he has managed to add to his haul of Grand Tours after being awarded the 2011 Vuelta a Espana following the conclusion of a doping case involving the original winner, Juan Jose Cobo.

Froome finished second in Spain that year but has now been declared the winner, meaning not only has he collected his seventh Grand Tour title but he is officially the first British winner of one of cycling’s major three races, beating Bradley Wiggins’ 2012 Tour de France triumph.

“I’m not sure many people won a Grand Tour while being home like that,” said Brailsford. “It’s a funny situation, that one, but he’s on the road to recovery and it’s great to see.”

Froome said: “The Vuelta in 2011 was in many ways my breakthrough race, so this red jersey is special for me. I guess it’s extra special too, because – even though it’s eight years on – it was Britain’s first Grand Tour win.

“The Vuelta is a race I love and I have always felt a great connection with it and the Spanish fans.”