Chris Froome has been deliberately “rammed” off the road while out riding on his bike, with the three-time Tour de France winner posting a picture of his damaged bicycle that had been “totalled” on Tuesday morning.

The 31-year-old British cyclist is preparing to tackle the Tour de France again in July in a bid to win the biggest race in the world for a third-straight year, following his victories in 2015 and 2-16 as well as his maiden success in 2013.

But his preparations took an alarming turn on Tuesday morning when he was involved in an incident in the French commune of Beausoleil, near Monaco, with what he described as “an impatient driver”, and posted the evidence on Twitter to reveal just how bad the damage was.

To make matters worse, the person responsible for hitting the two-time Olympic bronze medallist failed to stop at the scene and continued on their way after leaving the bicycle’s rear wheel buckled, with an angry but unhurt Froome taking to Twitter to reveal the extend of the crash and vent his anger in the process.

Writing on Twitter, Froome wrote: “Just got rammed on purpose by an impatient driver who followed me onto the pavement! Thankfully I'm okay. Bike totaled. Driver kept going!”

Froome is due to begin the defence of his Tour de France title on 1 July, with this year’s Grand Depart taking place in the German city of Dusseldorf as the first two stages of the race take place outside of France.

Tour de France 2016 in pictures Show all 24 1 /24 Tour de France 2016 in pictures Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 20 Chris Froome celebrates his third Tour de France title with his Sky Team. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 20 Chris Froome enjoys a celebratory drink with Great Britain's Ian Stannard. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 19 Chris Froome suffered a nasty fall on stage 19 but actually extended his lead Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 19 Romain Bardet broke away from the peloton to win stage 19 and move into second Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 18 Chris Froome celebrates a second victory in an individual time trial to retain the yellow jersey Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 17 Ilnur Zakarin on his way to stage 17 victory Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 16 Peter Sagan (left) beats Alexandre Kristoff to the line to win stage 16 Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 15 Jarlinson Pantano roars in delight as he crosses the line to win stage 15 of the Tour de France Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 14 Mark Cavendish celebrates clinching his fourth stage win of the 2016 Tour de France Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 13 Adam Yates, Thomas de Gendt, Peter Sagan, Chris Froome and Tom Dumoulin lay down flowers to pay their respects to the victims of the Nice terror attack Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 13 Tom Dumoulin clinched time trial victory in stage 13. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 12 Thomas De Gendt emerged victorious after a controversial day on the 12th stage. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 11 Peter Sagan moments after his victory on stage 11. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage 10 Michael Matthews on the podium after his victory on the tenth stage. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage Nine Tom Dumoulin celebrates as he crosses the line during the ninth stage. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage Eight Chris Froome celebrates winning stage eight to take the overall lead in the Tour de France. AP Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage Seven Steve Cummings celebrates victory on stage seven of the Tour de France. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage Six Mark Cavendish celebrates crossing the finishing line to claim his third stage win of Le Tour on stage six. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage Five Greg van Avermaet celebrates on the podium after his win on stage five to take the yellow yersey. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage Four Marcel Kittel celebrates taking a sprint victory on stage four of the Tour de France. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage Three Cavendish celebrates crossing the line and beating Andre Greipel on stage three. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage Two Peter Sagan celebrates his stage victory on day two of the Tour de France. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage Two Mark Cavendish started the day in the leader's yellow jersey. Getty Tour de France 2016 in pictures Stage One Mark Cavendish celebrates on the podium after winning the first stage of the Tour de France. Getty