Chris Froome

Three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome said he narrowly escaped injury when a car driver deliberately rammed him early on Tuesday while he was training near Beausoleil in southern France.

The British cyclist posted a Twitter message saying the driver followed him onto the pavement and rammed him from behind with the car before driving off.

"Just been rammed on purpose by an impatient driver who followed me onto the pavement," he wrote. "Thankfully, I'm okay, bike totaled but driver kept going."

The tweet carried a picture of Froome's mangled cycle lying on the sidewalk. The rider, who competes with the Sky team, is bidding for a fourth win at this year's event, which takes place between July 1 and 23.