Froome pulls out of Spanish Vuelta with broken foot

MADRID (AP) Chris Froome pulled out of the Spanish Vuelta on Thursday after fracturing a bone in his right foot.

The two-time Tour de France champion - and two-time Vuelta runner-up - said on his Twitter account that the navicular bone in his foot was fractured.

''End of the Vuelta for me,'' Froome tweeted.

Froome hit a barrier shortly after the start of Wednesday's 11th stage. Although he got back on his bike, blood could be seen oozing from a wound on his right knee.

''I hit my right side heavily and the main impact went on my right foot,'' Froome said in a Team Sky statement.

Froome was trying to become the third rider to win the Vuelta and the Tour de France in the same year. But after the accident he looked to be in pain for the rest of the tough mountainous ride and he finished 15th overall, 7 minutes, 30 seconds behind race leader Fabio Aru.

During most of the race Froome looked troubled, shaking his head frequently, especially during the four steep Category 1 climbs in the stage.

''I was desperate to dig in and finish the stage and my teammates did brilliantly to get me through it, but as soon as I got off the bike I couldn't put any weight on my right side,'' Froome said. ''I'm really gutted to be leaving the race but the injuries that I sustained on yesterday's stage were too much to continue.''

The 30-year-old Froome won his second Tour title in July.