Team Sky's Chris Froome 'rammed' off road by driver while training for Tour de France

Team Sky rider and Tour de France winner Chris Froome has claimed he was 'rammed' off the road by a driver while out riding in the south of France. The 31-year-old was left seething by what he perceived to be a deliberate attempt to hurt him while he was training, but he did not suffer any injuries.

The Nairobi-born road rider took to social media to make his fans aware of the incident and posted a photo of his snafued bike which fell victim to the ire of the impatient driver, who failed to stop at the scene of the incident, which took in Beausoleil, close to Monaco.

"Just got rammed on purpose by an impatient driver who followed me onto the pavement!" Froome wrote on Twitter. "Thankfully I'm okay. Bike totalled. Driver kept going!"

The crash was the third to involve an esteemed cyclist in recent months. Former Giro d'Italia winner Michele Scarponi was killed after colliding with a van last month, while British rider Mike Hall died after being hit by a car while competing in the Indian Pacific Wheel race in Australia.

The fuming but unhurt Froome was training for the upcoming Tour de France, which starts on 1 July. The 31-year-old, who competed for Kenya until 2008, will start his defence of the most coveted cycling title in Dusseldorf, where the famed Grand Depart will be taking place, and will hope to become only the fifth cyclist to win the Tour de France four times.

Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain are currently the only riders to have secured four yellow jerseys.