Chris Froome will be among 32 athletes tackling a charity ride across the Mediterranean in aid of the Princess Charlène of Monaco Foundation next week, it was announced on Wednesday.

The 41-year-old will be joined by fellow ex-WorldTour pros Jakob Fuglsang and Filippo Pozzato for Together Crossing for the Pelagos, a "sporting and charitable initiative" which will take place Friday 19 June. It consists of a crossing of the Med on special 'water bikes' from Viareggio in Italy to Monaco, a distance of 225km.

There will be eight teams with four riders on each, raising money for the Princess Charlène of Monaco Foundation and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, for "ocean awareness and protection". The 225km 'ride' will go through the Pelagos Sanctuary, a protected marine area across the French Riviera, Monaco, and the Ligurian coast, and is supported by sunglass brand Scicon Sports. The crossing also aims to raise public awareness about water safety and supports educational programmes dedicated to drowning prevention.

"By combining sport with ocean conservation, my Foundation aims, through The Crossing taking place in June, to inspire commitment, promote the protection of the Mediterranean and demonstrate that human achievement and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand," Princess Charlène said last week, according to the Monaco Tribune.

It is the latest turn for Froome, who has not raced since last August and appears to be without a team. In March, he was announced as chief innovation officer at Vekta, an AI training platform, while in April he took part in a Gran Fondo in Panama alongside Alejandro Valverde, where he recreated his famous run up Mont Ventoux in 2016.

The four-time Tour de France winner is yet to officially announce news of his future in cycling. “People will know soon enough,” he told Cyclingnews in December, but has largely remained quiet, apart from a few social media posts about skiing, basketball, and a rallying event in Monaco, close to where he lives.

"The Water Bike Crossing holds a special place in the history of Scicon Sports," Claudio Fantin, operational manager at Scicon Sports, said in a press release. "Being part of this project means returning to the origins of a journey that helped define an important part of our identity.

"We are proud to support an event that every year raises funds for educational programmes dedicated to drowning prevention and water safety. It is a message we fully share and are happy to support once again."

How will the years of Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana be remembered? The pair shared the Tour de France podium three times between 2013 and 2016, the former the top step, the latter second or third. There was a time when Quintana seemed the most likely to break the Team Sky hegemony, with his surge up Alpe d’Huez in 2015 putting a second Froome yellow jersey in peril. Froome was seen as one of the greatest ever, somewhat justifiably.

A decade on, that feels very distant. The Tadej Pogačar era has shifted the goalposts for what the best bike rider in the world can be, while Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard, to name but two, seem like much more complete cyclists than Froome and Quintana ever were. The pair won nine Grand Tours between them, and Froome was the last rider to win all three Grand Tours, and held all three titles at once, something beyond the current greats.

However, it is four years since Quintana won a bike race, six since winning a WorldTour event. The last time Froome stood on the top step of a podium it was the 2018 Giro d’Italia, and the idea of a global pandemic was the stuff of horror films. Both are technically still active riders, the Colombian at Movistar, the Briton without a team but not officially retired; he is still in the registered testing pool for cyclists.

It was coincidence this week that the pair both updated us on their work plans, but it is interesting that the two, once inextricably linked, are still somehow cosmically tied to each other. Quintana is to retire at the end of the season, while Froome has a new job as chief innovation officer at Vekta, an AI training platform.

What connects the two, other than being at the top of the general classification tree in 2013-2016, my formative years as a cycling fan, are that they’re still, just about, going. A friend of mine had no idea Quintana was still cycling, but he did 64 race days last year, 70 the year before. Froome has been a bit more of an obvious presence in cycling, but it wouldn’t be outrageous for one to assume he has been retired for a while now, which is not the case.

The fact they have continued for so long has gone some way to diminishing their legacies. Froome is no longer the man who went on an epic solo raid at the 2018 Giro d’Italia to younger fans, but the man who finished just inside the top 100 overall at the Tour de Suisse last year. Quintana hasn’t been quite so anonymous in results, and surely has been playing a role at Movistar bringing the next generation through, but also hasn’t been pulling up any trees.

I wonder what the motivation was in keeping going, in still not quite giving up the dream even, in Froome’s case. Of course, there has been remuneration from the years of racing, a significant amount in the case of the Briton, but I also sense a desire to just keep racing. Neither knows much beyond the world of professional cycling, life on the road, or feeling part of a team. Quintana took a year out of the sport after his tramadol-based disqualification from the Tour in 2022, and still came back. Cycling must mean a lot to him.

How their era of cycling will be remembered is a separate question. While there have been some labelling these years of Pogačar domination boring, the dynamic racing and attacking feel keenly juxtaposed with the seasons of the Team Sky-train, and a stony-faced Quintana plugging away. I don’t find myself yearning for the 2013 Tour to return, I don’t know about you. This of course is neither the fault of Froome or Quintana, who were working to make the best of their abilities, to create a legacy. How that sits in history is still very much a live question.

The news of Froome’s next step is the most-read story on our site this week, the news of Quintana’s retirement, the most-read on Cyclingnews. Perhaps all it needs is a few years and we will think fondly of the 2010s, the battle between the young Movistar rider and the awkward-pedalling Sky leader, I’m just not sure that is now.

This piece is part of The Leadout, the offering of newsletters from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here.

If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com.

As curiosity builds around his racing future, Chris Froome has taken on the role of chief innovation officer at Vekta, an AI training platform.

The 40-year-old, who has not raced since last August and appears to be without a team, will be involved in the French company’s product and brand development, and will also chair a newly created athlete advisory board.

Although the job is not full-time, Froome is expected to play an active role in the business's leadership.

Cycling Weekly was granted exclusive access to a press release on the announcement. In it, Froome is quoted as saying: “I’ve spent my career inside some of the most advanced performance environments in sport, and I’ve seen both the strengths and limitations of existing tools.

“What drew me to Vekta is the team’s ambition to build something that genuinely reflects how athletes train, race and adapt over time. For me, this is about rolling up my sleeves and helping build what comes next in performance, and I’m very excited to get stuck in.”

So what does this mean for the four-time Tour de France champion’s career as a professional cyclist? Has he retired from the peloton? That much is still unconfirmed.

Froome is yet to officially announce news of his racing future. “People will know soon enough,” he told Cyclingnews in December, but has remained silent, save for social media posts about a rally event in Monaco and a skiing holiday, in the three months since.

It is understood that the Briton’s contract with Israel-Premier Tech timed out at the end of 2025. He was then left out of the team’s rebrand as NSN Cycling this season.

“I haven’t 100% decided that I’ll be retiring at the end of this year,” Froome told the Never Strays Far podcast in February 2025. “Chances are, yes, I’ll be calling it a day, but I’m just keeping the door open. [I’ll] see how this year goes, see how I’m feeling towards the end of it.”

Froome’s season ended abruptly after the Tour de Pologne in August, when he was airlifted to hospital following a training crash near his home in the south of France. He suffered five broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a lumbar vertebrae fracture. His wife, Michelle Froome, told The Times he also had a pericardial rupture, a tear in the sac around the heart, that doctors were able to repair in surgery.

Although Froome’s new role at Vekta does not necessarily mark the end of his cycling career, it does appear to show him planning for life beyond it.

During his career, which began more than two decades ago and counts four Tour de France titles, two Vueltas a España and a Giro d’Italia, he has made a number of investments in cycling-adjacent brands, including Factor Bikes, GPS computer company Hammerhead, and glucose-monitoring platform Supersapiens.

Vekta CEO Paul-Antoine Girard described Froome’s appointment as a “defining moment” for the company, which launched last spring.

“Chris has spent his entire career at the very sharp end of elite performance,” Girard said. “His leadership will help shape the next generation of performance tools across endurance sport.”

Vekta is an AI platform that analyses training data and provides insights such as power zone calculation and stress monitoring. The company has partnerships with WorldTour teams including Lidl-Trek, Jayco AlUla, FDJ United-SUEZ and Decathlon CMA CGM.

Chris Froome teased his plans for 2026 at the Vuelta a España route presentation on Thursday night, but has confirmed that they will be released “in the coming months.”

The 40-year-old two-time Vuelta champion is currently without a team for the upcoming season, after his contract ended with Israel-Premier Tech this year. However, the Brit is yet to confirm whether he will retire, or seek another squad for 2026.

Speaking after the Vuelta presentation, Froome said that he was still recovering after suffering a collapsed lung, broken ribs and fractured spine in a training crash in August.

“Thankfully I'm on my feet again, but it’s been a tricky few months,” he told TNT. “I just got out of hospital from my third surgery yesterday, but I'm grateful to be standing on my feet again and put this last injury behind me.”

“Life as a pro cyclist, you’re going to crash at some point, it’s how you deal with it, how you get on with it that really matters.”

On the topic of future plans, the four-time Tour de France winner was more guarded.

“The last few months, I’ve just been focussed on my recovery and getting to this point so that I can be with you here today, but… I’ve got some plans in the pipeline, but I’ll share that with everyone in the coming months.”

Froome’s success in the Spanish race saw him brought onto the presentation stage to watch a film honouring his 2011 - his first professional win - and 2017 victories.

"It was like watching a race from back in the 1980s or 1990s, it feels so long ago, but that really was where it started for me, in terms of believing in my own GC potential and what I could achieve as a professional rider,” Froome told Cyclingnews.

"The Vuelta really has been such a special part of my career, as a rider, it's given me so many special memories, and a lot of suffering in between. But it's the race I've always looked forward to the most."

Pushed for an answer on what 2026 might have in store for him, Froome remained tight-lipped: “People will know soon enough.”

Chris Froome is cycling on the road again, three months after a life-threatening crash, although his future remains up in the air.

The four-time Tour de France winner had a life-threatening training crash during training at the end of August, which saw him suffer a a pericardial rupture, a tear to the sac that surrounds the heart, in the incident. His other injuries included a collapsed lung, five broken ribs and a fractured lumbar vertebrae.

Thankfully, he now appears to be on the path to recovery from his latest serious crash, with an update on social media on Wednesday. His plans remain unknown, with no contract on the table for next season.

The 40-year-old posted on Instagram: "It’s been a tough road back after my latest crash but it feels so good to finally be out here spinning the legs and on the road again.

"Every setback teaches you something… this one reminded me to slow down, heal and enjoy the simple things in life."

“It was obviously a lot more serious than some broken bones,” his wife, Michelle Froome, told The Times earlier this year. “He’s fine, but it’s going to be a long recovery process. He won’t be riding a bike for a while.”

The 40-year-old hit a kerb and collided with a road sign in the south of France at more than 30mph (48km/h)

Froome remains officially an active rider, and has at times teased riding on into 2026. However, he was confirmed to be leaving the team formerly known as Israel-Premier Tech earlier in November, as the team said farewell to departing riders.

"We want to take the chance to thank our departing staff for all of their hard work and, of course, the departing riders: Pascal Ackermann, Chris Froome, Riley Pickrell, Matthew Riccitello, Michael Schwarzmann, and Mike Woods," a post on their Instagram account read.

"Thanks for the memories over the last years, we look forward to seeing you in the peloton next year or wherever the next chapter takes you!"

Froome last raced at the Tour of Poland in August, where he placed 68th overall. He joined Israel-Premier Tech in 2021 after 11 years with Team Sky and Ineos, during which time he won four Tours de France, two Vueltas a España and the Giro d'Italia.

His time at Israel-Premier Tech did not live up to his self-imposed heights, more than partly down to the serious crash he was involved in in 2019, aged 34. In the five years with the squad, he has finished in the top-20 of a race just six times. In 2023, IPT's owner, Sylvan Adams, has said that signing the Tour winner was “absolutely not” value for money.

Israel-Premier Tech have now become NSN Cycling, and were pictured this week riding in unbranded kits.

Chris Froome is not yet retired, but he is now without a team. The 40-year-old was confirmed to be leaving Israel-Premier Tech on Friday, as the team said farewell to departing riders.

"We want to take the chance to thank our departing staff for all of their hard work and, of course, the departing riders: Pascal Ackermann, Chris Froome, Riley Pickrell, Matthew Riccitello, Michael Schwarzmann, and Mike Woods," a post on their Instagram account read.

"Thanks for the memories over the last years, we look forward to seeing you in the peloton next year or wherever the next chapter takes you!"

Froome is currently recovering from a life-threatening training crash sustained at the end of August, which saw him suffer a a pericardial rupture, a tear to the sac that surrounds the heart, in the incident. His other injuries included a collapsed lung, five broken ribs and a fractured lumbar vertebrae.

He is still yet to officially retire, however, and has at times teased riding on into 2026. "I haven’t 100% decided that I’ll be retiring at the end of this year," Froome told the Never Strays Far podcast earlier this year. "Chances are, yes, I’ll be calling it a day, but I’m just keeping the door open. [I’ll] see how this year goes, see how I’m feeling towards the end of it."

Froome last raced at the Tour of Poland in August, where he placed 68th overall. He joined Israel-Premier Tech in 2021 after 11 years with Team Sky and Ineos, during which time he won four Tours de France, two Vueltas a España and the Giro d'Italia.

His time at Israel-Premier Tech did not live up to his self-imposed heights, more than partly down to the serious crash he was involved in in 2019, aged 34. In the five years with the squad, he has finished in the top-20 of a race just six times. In 2023, IPT's owner, Sylvan Adams, has said that signing the Tour winner was “absolutely not” value for money.

If this is the end, it seems a shame that Froome has not been able to go out on his terms, but don't rule out a scheme that sees him keep racing a little while longer.

Separately, Israel-Premier Tech closed its social media accounts and website at the weekend, ahead of an expected rebrand. It will be without Premier Tech, though, who have already announced they are leaving.

Chris Froome suffered a life-threatening heart injury in the serious training crash he had last week, it has been revealed.

The four-time Tour de France winner, who currently rides for Israel-Premier Tech, sustained a pericardial rupture, a tear to the sac that surrounds the heart, in the incident on Thursday. His other injuries included a collapsed lung, five broken ribs and a fractured lumbar vertebrae.

“It was obviously a lot more serious than some broken bones,” his wife, Michelle Froome, told The Times this week. “He’s fine, but it’s going to be a long recovery process. He won’t be riding a bike for a while.”

It was reported last week that he had surgery and that the "procedures went as planned. He is in good spirits and grateful for the excellent medical support he has received.

The 40-year-old hit a kerb and collided with a road sign in the south of France at more than 30mph (48km/h), according to The Times. He was then taken to the Sainte-Anne military hospital in Toulon, which specialises in thoracic, or chest, surgery.

According to a report in L'Équipe, Froome remained conscious after the crash, and was able to speak to those around him. No-one else was involved in the incident.

Froome last raced at the Tour de Pologne earlier this month, where he placed 68th overall.

In 2019, riding for Ineos, Froome was taken into intensive car after crashing into a wall in a course recon at the Critérium du Dauphiné. He suffered fractures to his sternum, neck, femur, elbow and ribs, and also lost four pints of blood.

He returned to racing eight months later, but struggled to recover his Grand-Tour-winning form. It took three years for him to say that he was riding pain-free again, and he had to learn how to walk before getting back on his bike.

Froome, who also counts two Vuelta a España titles and one Giro d'Italia crown on his record, is thought to be out of contract at the end of the season, with his five-year contract with Israel-Premier Tech running out. As well as a long recovery, the setbacks could mean a premature end to his career.

Chris Froome has successfully undergone surgery following a training crash in southern France on Thursday that saw him airlifted to hospital.

The 40-year-old suffered extensive injuries, including a collapsed lung, five broken ribs and a fractured lumbar vertebrae.

However, he has now had surgery and it was reported on social media on Friday morning that the "procedures went as planned. He is in good spirits and grateful for the excellent medical support he has received."

The crash, in which no one else was said to have been involved, took place near Toulon in the far south of France, and he was airlifted to a hospital in the city.

Today's full update, posted on the Israel-Premier Tech rider's social media channels, reads:

"We can confirm that Chris has successfully undergone surgery following his recent injuries.

"The procedures went as planned and Chris is currently recovering in hospital, under the care of his medical team.

"He is in good spirits and grateful for the excellent medical support he has received.

"Chris and his family would like to thank fans, friends, and the cycling community for their concern and kind messages during this time."

This is not the first time that Kenyan-born Brit Froome has been here – he suffered a serious training crash in 2019 in which he hit a wall at high speed, and suffered even more severe injuries than in this latest incident, including a broken femur and hip.

It took place during a course recon at the Critérium du Dauphiné, and Froome had been due to make a bid for a fifth Tour de France victory only weeks later.

Froome had won the Tour de France in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017, and also counts the Giro d'Italia (2018) and two Vueltas a España (2011, 2017) on his palmarés. After that crash in 2019 he never recovered the world-beating form he had shown over the previous years.

Now 40 years old and due to be out of contract at Israel-Premier Tech at the end of this season, it seems unlikely he will continue racing professionally. If that is the case, it would be a sad way to bow out.

Chris Froome was involved in a "serious training crash" on Wednesday and airlifted to hospital.

The four-time Tour de France winner is said to be "stable", according to his Israel-Premier Tech team. Scans confirmed he suffered five broken ribs, a lumbar vertebrae fracture and a collapsed lung.

Following the crash, Froome was taken to Toulon hospital in the south of France, near his home in Monaco, where he will undergo surgery on Thursday afternoon.

According to a report in L'Équipe, Froome remained conscious after the crash, and was able to speak to those around him.

A statement released by the Brit's team on Thursday afternoon read: "Chris Froome was airlifted to hospital in Toulon yesterday afternoon following a serious training crash [no other cyclists or vehicles were involved].

"Fortunately, Chris is stable and did not sustain any head injuries. However, scans have confirmed a pneumothorax, five broken ribs, and a lumbar vertebrae fracture, for which he will undergo surgery this afternoon.

"We will update on Chris’ condition following surgery."

Froome last raced at the Tour de Pologne earlier this month, where he placed 68th overall.

In 2019, then riding for Team Ineos, Froome was taken into intensive car after crashing into a wall in a course recon at the Critérium du Dauphiné. He suffered fractures to his sternum, neck, femur, elbow and ribs, and also lost four pints of blood.

He returned to racing eight months later, but struggled to recover his Grand-Tour-winning form.

In 2021, Froome left Ineos Grenadiers and joined his current team, Israel-Premier Tech, on a five-year contract, which is due to finish at the end of this season. He celebrated his 40th birthday this May.

After turning pro with Barloworld in 2008, the Brit has ridden for 18 years as an elite cyclist, 11 of which with Team Sky, the team that later became Ineos.

He won his first of four Tour de France titles in 2013, and is one of only a handful of cyclists to win all three Grand Tours, having also claimed two Vueltas a España and the 2018 Giro d'Italia, his last professional victory.

To the uninitiated, the Tour de France may seem to be one man in yellow, chased by 180 other riders trying to take it off him, or win stages. But dig a little deeper and it becomes a race of teams and endless tactics, where the fate of a stage can hinge on the cohesion of the group, as well as the individual ambitions of riders.

The Tour de France is a team event, raced by 23 groups of eight, in most cases all working to support their lead rider. Every rider has a role: sprinters vie for stage-wins; GC contenders race for the yellow jersey, with the rest of the team typically made up of domestiques. These are the workers there to support their leader, sheltering them from the wind, keeping them protected in the peloton and supplied up with water, gels, food and clothes grabbed from the team cars when needed.

But how does a team work together effectively? How do these domestiques, all capable riders at the top of their sport, sacrifice individual victories for the sake of the lead rider and their teams?

Professor Stephen Reicher of the University of St. Andrews uses his theories from the world of psychology to try and better understand how the peloton works. An expert in group psychology and identity formation, cycling also has his heart - just to the back of the video call his bike pops half into frame, leaning gently against a towering bookshelf.

“You get this classic tension between the individual and the group, right?” he tells me, blue eyes sparkling.

“If everybody cycled for themselves, the team would lose. So you have to get people who are prepared to cycle for the collective good of the team, people who are prepared to sacrifice themselves, who are prepared to chase down breaks.

And yet, at the same time, of course, they want to win, because why would you get into cycling if you didn’t? And secondly, to get a contract in the future they’ve got to show themselves and display themselves. So there’s always this tension between the individual good and the collective good.”

The key to winning the race is, of course, in investing in great riders, but it also comes down to the strength of the team - and the careful management needed to strike the right balance is echoed in wider sociological trends.

“People in social sciences talk about the tragedy of the commons.”

The thought experiment calls back to the time when land was held in common. If everyone who shared a claim to that land grazed a single sheep, there would be enough space and grass for all. But if a few people decided to introduce a second sheep, there wouldn’t be enough grass to share, and all the sheep - and the people who kept them - would starve.

“So how do you stop people exploiting the system and acting for their individual interest? And how do you limit their individual interest for the sake of the collective good?

“One of the really big temptations is to be what’s called a “free rider” [/loader]. In other words, everybody else has just one sheep, and you sneak in a second one. You do well, and then more and more people become free riders as a consequence.

“And if you think about it, that tragedy of the commons is that over grazing. And the overuse of resources is, if you like, the key issue in the Tour de France - if everybody just sits in the breakaway, it will collapse.”

At this juncture, Dr Reicher reaches for a battered book, placeholders sticking out of the top, pages lovingly worn. It is 'La Société du Peloton', by the Groupama-FDJ rider and psychologist Guillaume Martin. He turns to the final page and translates its concluding line from French to English:

“Three racers attack, will they manage to organise themselves? Will they allow themselves to be caught by the peloton? The issue is uncertain, but we can be sure that the race will be beautiful.”

Often, the key to a successful breakaway is the commitment of its riders to work together. Will one rider sit on another's wheel and refuse to collaborate, or will they alternate leading riders, allowing the group to conserve energy and form a fierce breakaway? How does a team avoid a “tragedy of the commons?”

“It’s like a game of chess.”

Every day, coalitions between riders of different teams happen. Once in the breakaway, they have a common goal - to stay away from the chasing peloton. However, at one point in the race attacks will inevitably be made, the new goal set towards stage wins. It might come 100km to the end if the distance from the peloton is wide enough, or on a climb, or in the final stretch of a sprint depending on opportunity and rider capabilities.

Sometimes coalitions between riders happen between those with the same nationality, sometimes old favours are called into play during stages, or thrown forwards for future call-ins. Sometimes breakaway team-mates earn the rare honour of a double combativity award like the TotalEnergies riders in this year's Tour. Sometimes team loyalties break down during the races - players go rogue.

“The most famous example was in 1985. Greg LeMond was working for Bernard Hinault to win the Tour de France.”

In 1984, the aging champion Bernard Hinault had broken from Renault to set up his own team: La Vie Claire. The following year, Hinault poached his ex-teammate and current World Champion Greg LeMond, to help him secure his fifth Tour de France victory. LeMond, though arguably the more capable rider of that 1985 Tour, worked for Hinault to secure his record breaking win. However, the following year the American extinguished Hunault’s desires for a sixth victory, taking the win for himself - the first of two more to come.

More recently, Sky teammates Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins kick started their feud on Stage 11 of the 2012 Tour. Froome rode clear of his teammate in an move criticised by Wiggins, and which threw doubt on the team’s leadership.

The key to ensuring a team works harmoniously is in the ability to cultivate a shared identity, argues Dr. Reicher.

“Good leadership is about creating a sense of “us”.

The success of the group is the ability of the leader to get people to think in group terms - a victory of the group is a victory for me, so I’m not feeling jealous of them, but affirmed by their victory.”

There is no definitive science to how group cohesion can be consistently secured - there are many ways to do this, none of them completely known. But looking at the peloton today, there is one team most clearly working as a strategic whole, according to Dr. Reicher.

“Visma-Lease a Bike. I think most people recognise that Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) is a stronger overall cyclist, but Visma-Lease a Bike [now] have a stronger team - if they attack him, he has to respond to each attack. So the ability of a team like Visma-Lease a Bike is as critical to the tour as the individual legs of Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.

“Cycling is just about the only sport where you can have a conversation like this. It’s very much about the team, and the ability of the team to work together, and the ability of people to sacrifice themselves in false attacks, to throw out the opposition which makes all the difference.

I haven’t got the data. I look from the outside, I read it in Cycling Weekly. I have no more insights than you have. But what is quite clear, and what makes it so fascinating, is that this is a conversation we can have that’s critical to what’s going to happen in this tour. If it was just about the strongest rider, quite frankly it would be a bit dull - we’d most likely know the outcome already. But it is so much more than that. It’s about society, too.

Individuals don’t have a chance to defeat the group if they have no coherence as a team. It’s understanding that team process, and how to nurture it, but also that diplomatic process of being able to form those groups on the road that is central to the sport and part of its magic.”

Don’t believe everything you read on ProCyclingStats. If you were to head over to the database website now, and navigate to Chris Froome, you would see an ominous sentence at the top of his page: Will retire on 2025-12-31.

The phrasing makes it sound definite, a total certainty. Froome will retire, end of story. And yet, in the words of the four-time Tour de France winner himself, there’s nothing concrete about it, not yet anyway.

“I haven’t 100% decided that I’ll be retiring at the end of this year,” Froome told the Never Strays Far podcast at an early season training camp. “Chances are, yes, I’ll be calling it a day, but I’m just keeping the door open. [I’ll] see how this year goes, see how I’m feeling towards the end of it.”

So might we see Froome in the peloton next year?

For months now, the Brit has said he wants to keep racing until the age of 40, a birthday he’ll celebrate this May. Many have assumed this means he’ll retire this season, but the milestone has only ever been a goal for him, not a finish line.

Of course, only a handful of riders choose to continue beyond this point. The oldest male WorldTour pro this season is 38-year-old Jayco AlUla rider Alessandro De Marchi. Closely trailing the Italian is Ineos Grenadiers' Geraint Thomas, only six days younger, and planning to retire at the end of the year.

At 39, Froome is older than both, but under no obligation to give up just yet. In fact, some riders have continued to find success in their 40s. Look at Alejandro Valverde, for example, who took his last WorldTour victory aged 41 at the Critérium du Dauphiné, or Annemiek van Vleuten, a 40-year-old winner of both the Giro d’Italia Donne and Vuelta Femenina.

Needless to say, recent results show Froome’s competitive level is not the same as Valverde’s or Van Vleuten’s towards the end of their careers. But if he feels he can continue to play a support role, then he might still be valuable to a team, although with which team is another question.

This is where the crux of Froome’s future lies. At the end of this season, the Brit's five-year deal with ProTeam Israel-Premier Tech is set to time out. It is very unlikely his contract will be renewed; Froome's salary is understood to be worth millions of euros, and IPT’s owner, Sylvan Adams, has said that signing the Tour winner was “absolutely not” value for money.

Might another team take a gamble on him? Let’s look at his CV.

Froome is considered to be the greatest Grand Tour rider of his generation. He has won four Tours, two Vueltas a España, and a Giro d’Italia, and is one of just three men to hold all three at the same time, alongside Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault.

In 2019, however, then aged 34, the course of Froome’s career changed rapidly. As he completed a recon of the time trial course at the Critérium du Dauphiné, he crashed at high-speed, breaking his femur, elbow and ribs. He was airlifted to hospital, rushed into intensive care, and doubts were cast about his future as a pro cyclist.

Eight months later, Froome returned to the peloton – an impressive feat in itself – but he hasn’t won a race since. His last victory, in fact, was the Giro d'Italia in 2018, while his highest placing last year was 21st on a stage of the Tour du Rwanda. He might be the greatest Grand Tour rider of his generation, but that generation is no longer at the top.

This current form, combined with his age, would make him a hard sell to potential new employers. It’s clear Froome is under no illusion the case is otherwise. “Chances are, yes, I’ll be calling it a day,” he said, realistic about his future. Still, it’s hard not to admire his will to carry on.

For almost two decades now, Froome’s life has been anchored in his career as a pro cyclist. “Once you’re into it, you’re into it,” he told Never Strays Far's host Ned Boulting. Is he not bored of the lifestyle? "No!" Froome snapped back.

Today, he stands among the last remnants of a generation of British Grand Tour greatness. Yes, he will soon be 40, but his passion still burns. Don't rule out seeing him in 2026 just yet.

Chris Froome will not race the Tour de France this year after he missed out on selection by his team Israel-Premier Tech. 

The four-time champion, now 39 years old, was also absent from the race in 2023, and last competed in the 2022 edition. 

It was thought that Froome would be part of the team this year after he competed at the recent Critérium du Dauphiné, one of the key precursors to the Tour de France. 

Instead, Israel-Premier Tech will go to the Grand Tour with Pascal Ackermann, Guillaume Boivin, Jakob Fuglsang, Derek Gee, Hugo Houle, Krists Neilands, Jake Stewart and Stevie Williams. 

"It was one of the toughest team selections we ever had to make, which speaks of the depth of out rider roster," said team owner Sylvan Adams in a statement.

"Ultimately, our performance team was unanimous in making these selections, knowing we wanted a team geared towards hunting for individual stages, rather than a high placing on GC."

Speaking to Eurosport in April this year, Froome said he would "love to get back to the Tour de France", where he hoped to target a stage win. 

"[It] would be for me an amazing way to end my career with at least a few more battles in the mountains," the Brit said. 

"A fifth Tour de France for me is always there as a dream, but I think I've come to the reality now that returning to that level of really fighting for victory at the Tour de France is certainly going to be very, very difficult.

"For me right now, I would just love to get back to the Tour de France. Even if I'm there fighting in the mountains, potentially for another stage win, that would be amazing." 

At the Tour de France last year, Israel-Premier Tech owner Adams told Cycling Weekly that signing Froome on a multi-million euro salary was "absolutely not" value for money. 

"We signed Chris to be the leader of our Tour de France team and he's not even here so that cannot be considered value for money," Adams explained. 

Froome is widely considered to be the best Grand Tour rider of his generation, having won four Tours de France, two Vueltas a España and a Giro d'Italia. 

The team chosen to represent Israel-Premier Tech this July counts four debutants: Ackermann, Gee, Stewart and Williams. 

"It's something I dreamt of as a kid growing up," said La Flèche Wallonne winner Williams. "This has already been a wonderful year for me so far with some nice victories. Now, I'm eager to target some stages over the next month and try to tick off a major goal for myself and for the team." 

Michael Woods, stage winner on the Puy de Dôme last year, also missed out on selection. 

Several years ago, I worked in higher education at a prominent UK university. At that time, I was also a member of Unison - one of Britain’s largest trade unions - whom you could call upon for advice should you ever have the misfortune of experiencing bullying in the workplace. 

By Unison’s definition, workplace bullying is "persistent offensive, intimidating, humiliating behaviour, which attempts to undermine an individual or group of employees". It continues: "Bullying is generally carried out face-to-face but can also occur in writing by telephone, text messaging, email and on social media." 

In most workplaces, bullying wouldn’t be tolerated.

So why is elite sport any different? Why should professional athletes have to tolerate being publicly undermined in the media by their employer? 

Soudal Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere has developed a reputation as being one of the biggest culprits of criticising his riders. Lefevere has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind, even if it involves getting personal in relation to a rider, and his latest comments directed at former two-time road World Champion Julian Alaphilippe are yet another example of that. He has done it before, with Alaphilippe, and with Sam Bennett, but it has happened again.

On this occasion, Lefevere brought Alaphilippe’s wife, the Tour de France Femmes' race director Marion Rousse, into the picture as well as suggesting he drinks alcohol excessively. 

"Too many parties, too much alcohol... Julian is seriously under the influence of Marion Rousse," Lefevere said when describing Alaphilippe’s issues to Humo magazine. "Maybe too much. Julian is a young dog full of energy — you should let him cross in the yard every now and then. And you must also say: this far and no further. There is still a bad boy inside him." He went on to claim that he would "fire him on the spot" if it continues. 

Since winning his second world title, it would be fair to say that Alaphilippe hasn’t hit the high notes he’s capable of in a race situation. Various factors have got in the way, including several major crashes as well as bouts of illness, but few would bet against him returning to form at some point, perhaps at a different team away from his scathing boss. 

Inevitably a great deal is expected of riders of his status, particularly when they’re tied to high earning contracts - according to L’Equipe, Alaphilippe was given a raise of more than 2 million euros after landing two rainbow jerseys - so underperforming is going to generate some criticism. 

But alongside that there is surely a line that needn't be crossed? Especially if it turns sour and personal. 

Rousse issued her own response to Lefevere's public attack on Wednesday, saying: "Whatever Mr Lefevere's feelings towards me, it is unacceptable to attack our private lives as he is doing... Please now stop talking indiscriminately and show more respect and class."

At the Tour Down Under, Alaphilippe told Cycling Weekly that he had spent the week building "a good base" in order "to improve from now to my goals." But, he will be out of contract at the end of the current campaign and said "I don’t know where I will be next year, if I continue in the team or if I continue cycling". Comments in the press about being fired "on the spot", surely, cannot help. 

Lefevere’s comments have some similarity to Manchester City Football Club manager Pep Guardiola’s recent public criticism of midfielder Kalvin Phillips. 

Guardiola accused Phillips of being overweight on his return from the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The midfielder recently left the club on loan and told journalists that his confidence had taken a big knock after his managers belittling comments. Guardiola subsequently apologised in a press conference. 

If in Alaphilippe and Phillips’ case athletes do indeed have personal issues, being employed within the public eye should not mean their employer gets a free pass to undermine them in the spotlight of the media and to make those personal issues public. 

Lefevere is far from being the only guilty party in cycling. Israel-Premier Tech boss Sylvan Adams has very publicly criticised Chris Froome in the past and ridiculed his performances. 

Equally, both team bosses have repeatedly expressed their respect for their riders although that hasn’t detracted from the scalding criticism both have received. 

In the wake of Lefevere’s latest bitter attack on a rider, Australian pro Chloe Hosking took to social media to call upon the riders' union, the CPA, to make their stance against this behaviour clear. Cycling Weekly has reached out to the CPA to get their view on the topic. 

In an age in which mental health awareness is frequently discussed within the workplace, perhaps these bosses need an ounce of education. Riders like Alaphilippe deserve better, and the public undermining of sports stars needs to stop.

Update: Patrick Lefevere told the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad that he made the comments about Julian Alaphilippe's private life in 2022. Nevertheless, he did not apologise for the comments made about Rousse. 

"I am considering making a statement on Twitter, because once again my words in English – without the context of the interview – sound heavier than I said them in Dutch," he told the Belgian daily.

"What did I say? José De Cauwer is my witness: not last year [the conversation he had with Alaphilippe], but in November 2022 I took Julian Alaphilippe aside in Diegem [at a team meeting]. To say: things cannot continue like this. Either I let you go, or we’re going to do things differently from now on. My message was: ‘talent alone will no longer work. You get older and have to live differently.’ Julian has performed big numbers in the Tour, but at the time they were no other, or less pronounced, top performers such as Mathieu Van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič that he is now competing against.

"There was a period with too many parties, but I have to say: he hasn’t had a drink since our conversation in November 2022. Not within the team and not outside the team. I have spoken to people who were with him on the internship in Sierra Nevada: not a drop more. And training has never been a problem, he has always continued to do so.

"At a certain point Julian lost his self-confidence. He remains valuable to the team. He says that press conferences stress him out, but he is actually a perfect sandwich man. He recently went to Cologne for a publicity assignment at Safety Jogger, no problem. Publicity-wise, he remains God in France. Only: I also want results and there have been too few. It must be more than the Faun-Ardèche Classic."

Now Ineos Grenadiers have officially announced their new kit for 2024, a largely orange affair from Gobik, we thought it was time to have a look back at the team's kits from its 15 years of existence.

We already knew what the jersey would look like, really, thanks to Egan Bernal accidentally leaking the kit on Instagram last week, but now we can acknowledge it in all its orange, red and navy blue/black glory.

It's not the first time that a colour other than black or blue has appeared on the jersey - last year was mostly red - but this kit is the first to be properly orange, much like the team's training one.

As for the new supplier, which took over from Bioracer, Gobik first appeared in 2010 when a cycling club in Spain’s Murcia region needed a new kit for racing and the brand started from there, so it has been a swift decade of acceleration from then.

In a press release announcing the new deal, Ineos confirmed that the team had agreed a long-term partnership with the brand which will see them take over from Bioracer as kit supplier to the likes of Geraint Thomas, Egan Bernal and Tom Pidcock. 

Ineos Grenadiers - and Team Sky - have had a whole host of iconic kit suppliers over the years, from Adidas to Gobik, via Rapha and Castelli. Here's a run down of all the eras.

Adidas

The British team first started out with German sports powerhouse Adidas as its kit supplier when it first hit the road in 2010. Bradley Wiggins and company lined up in a now iconic black and light blue kit at the team's launch in London and set the blueprint team's visual identity for almost a decade. 

With the famous three stripes logo taking centre stage on the sleeves, the team’s first jersey featured a large blue panel through the middle with the Sky logo in white print with a blue collar and a thin blue strip running down the middle on the back. 

The jersey and team’s colours largely stayed the same for a while although the blue panel on the jersey was briefly swapped out for a ‘rainforest green’ version in the 2011 Tour of Britain which coincided with an environmental campaign being run by its main sponsor. The kit proved to be a hit and so it was worn in the 2011 Tour de France due to its success.

Adidas’ crowning moment as the team’s kit supplier was undoubtedly Bradley Wiggins' 2012 Tour victory. The jersey Wiggins wore was largely the same although more secondary sponsors had started to appear and a mini essay/poem had been added to the back to give more meaning to the blue line that first appeared in 2020. 

It read: “This is the line | The line between winning and losing | Between failure and success | Between good and great | Between dreaming and believing | Between convention and innovation |Between head and heart |It’s a fine line |It challenges everything we do |And we ride it every day." 

Sadly, that Adidas collaboration ran out in 2012 and the company has not been back to cycling's highest ranks since. A shame, we think.

Rapha

Adidas moved on after Wiggins’ success and were replaced by the relatively new but upmarket brand, Rapha. 

The team’s colours largely remained unchanged from their early days, although Rapha’s signature armband was added to the jersey on the left sleeve in the same shade of blue. The first jersey Rapha supplied to the team was largely black other than the armband on the jersey and the corresponding band which featured on the left thigh of the black shorts. 

Rapha kept the blue line on the back of the jersey although ditched the slightly cheesy poem. 

The following year, 2014, saw the exact same Rapha kit rolled out but with a few further sponsors added to the chest. Some fans saw that as too simple and boring, although that may have largely been associated with Sky’s supreme dominance left, right and centre as Chris Froome kept the Tour de France wins coming. 

In 2015 the jersey was once again largely the same. It was the next year that  Rapha started to really mix things up in its final stint as the team’s supplier. Horizontal blue and white lines were added to the jersey and featured both on the chest and rear, and the blue was slightly lightened to give it more of a sky blue feel. 

Under Rapha, the team’s dominance continued with Froome bagging his third Tour title and Sky making a breakthrough in the Classics with Wout Poels winning the team’s first Monument, Liège-Bastogne-Liège. 

Castelli

Italian giants Castelli took over as the team’s kit supplier in 2017. 

Castelli kept the team’s simple jersey design largely in place in the brand’s first year with the Rapha bands on the front replaced with thin blue and white dashes, which denoted different wins for the team.

It was during that year's Tour de France when it all began to briefly change with the introduction of their special edition white kit. The team rolled out what was essentially a simple colour reversal of the first Castelli jersey with the main colour being white and the thin dashes across the middle now sky blue and black. 

It was seen as yet another Dave Brailsford attempt at a marginal gain with white being supposedly cooler in the summer heat of the Tour de France. Whatever it was, it worked, as Geraint Thomas stormed to his first ever Grand Tour victory when the team kept white as the main jersey colour the following year. 

The first 2018 jersey was white with a blue panel across the chest featuring the Sky logo embossed in thick white print. It was the first time the team had returned to the central panel since the early Adidas kits. Its main highlight was Chris Froome’s sensational Giro d’Italia victory featuring that breakaway effort on stage 19. 

Yet another special edition kit was rolled out for the Tour, although the jersey was still white, as the team briefly became Sky Ocean Rescue as the television provider embarked on an environmental mission. The jersey’s most notable feature was a huge vertical image of a giant killer whale on the back panel. 

2019 was an interesting year for the team as Sky’s final jersey as a sponsor saw the team’s colours change at the start of the season to a royal blue fading to black on the jersey, but it was a kit which was only worn until March.

Ineos arrived as headline sponsor in the spring and Egan Bernal won yet another Tour title for the team as blue was kicked off the jersey design for good. The blue fade that featured earlier on in the year was replaced with a blood red colourway instead. 

The following year a plain blue jersey arrived with the Grenadier logo - an upside down red V shape - taking centre stage in what would be Castelli’s final spell as the team’s supplier. 

Bioracer

In 2022, Bioracer were brought in after the five-year deal with Castelli ended. 

Red kept its place on the first kit brought in by the Belgian brand which was a continuation of the design first used at the 2020 Tour when the team first transitioned from Sky to Ineos. The upside down V Grenadier logo disappeared as red panelling was introduced to the shoulders which faded out into the largely blue jersey. 

The main sponsor's logo changed back to a largely text based design which then featured vertically on the thighs of the shorts too.  

According to Dave Brailsford at the time the Bioracer partnership was announced, he had “always hoped” that the Belgian brand and the British team would link up such was his high regard for Bioracer’s innovation and expertise. 

Bioracer’s final year as supplier to the team saw a sensational win for Tom Pidcock at Strade Bianche. The jersey featured a more orangey red as its central colour with an eye-catching diamond style pattern on the sleeves and simple blue shorts and white socks. 

Gobik

Now we are up to the present day, and there is very little black or blue on the Ineos Grenadiers kit of the modern day, no more stripe, and definitely no Rapha armband. It remains to be seen if the squad can get back to their former glory days in the new strip, but they will certainly stand out doing it.

Which kit was your favourite?

Chris Froome’s claims that his team bike and bike position have affected his form in 2023 have been rubbished by his team boss, Sylvan Adams.

As the 2023 road season drew to a close, Froome finished it without any results of note. Then last month he blamed his position on his team issue Factor bike for his continued poor form. 

He said: "We’ve made some big, big changes in terms of my position, but I am feeling much better now. And interestingly the back pain has just disappeared."

Adams, the owner of the Israel-Premier Tech team, told the Radio Cycling podcast that Froome’s claims simply defied logic. 

"Does it sound logical that someone who won seven Grand Tours is claiming that his saddle position is off by a centimetre or whatever he's saying?” Adams said. “Does that sound credible for a guy who's getting dropped, not even on the last climbs of races but on the early climbs of races?"

Froome was left out of Israel-Premier Tech's Tour de France squad this summer, the first time he's not been selected (excluding injuries) since 2011.

Adams continued: “We’ve been very generous with Chris in terms of trying to help him, trying to give him the best possible equipment, the best possible conditions… He can talk about his bike position until the cows come home - that's still not going to earn him a position on a Grand Tour team.”

Froome's suggestions were also ridiculed on X, formerly known as Twitter, by former pro Michael Rasmussen who suggested they were "a load of BS". 

It is not the first time that Adams has criticised Froome publicly for his poor performances since joining his team. 

During the Tour de France in July Adams told Cycling Weekly and Radio Cycling that Froome was “absolutely not” worth his multi-million euro salary. 

Despite questioning Froome’s claims about his bike setup, Adams insisted that Froome would once again be given every opportunity to force his way into contention for a spot on Israel-Premier Tech’s Tour de France team next year.

He said: “If he's able to get into races and prove himself to be a relevant force in a race — we're not even talking about winning Grand Tours any more, we're not even talking about podiums in a Grand Tour — we're talking about being a useful member of a Grand Tour team.

“If he’s able to demonstrate that he has that level then sure, he’ll have every opportunity the same way as other riders on the team.” 

Adams went on to speak at length about the war between Israel and Hamas.

When asked if, due to the ongoing conflict, Adams had fears for his team or riders' security in 2024 he reacted angrily and insisted the team would continue to operate as normal.

"Are we to be intimidated by genocidal terrorists? When ISIS was threatening people around the world did the world come to a stop? This is the same thing,” he said. “What are we supposed to do? Cower? We're just going to go about our daily business. 

"What are you suggesting? That people are going to attack us because we are wearing the name Israel on our jersey? Are you suggesting we don't have the right to free speech and to present ourselves in public? Do you think that's okay?"

Adams explained that he believes cycling, as well as other sports, can continue to be a force for good and reconciliation in the world amidst conflict and war. 

"I do think that sports bring people together,” he added. “I feel this, I see it myself when we are on the road. It's a bridge to learning about different people around the world. Our own team has 17 different nationalities. I do see sports as a force for good."

Chris Froome, one of the highest-profile critics of disc brakes on road bikes in recent years, has revealed that he has "warmed to" the technology.

Speaking to the media during a visit to the Factor Bikes factory in Taiwan on Wednesday - of which he is an investor - the Israel-Premier Tech rider said that he has had a "much better experience" of disc brakes in the last year and a half.

Froome has made clear his dislike for disc brakes in the past. Reviewing his Israel Star-Up Nation team bike in 2021, when he first joined, he said he wasn't "100% sold" on disc brakes yet. The performance is great, he conceded, before adding: "The downsides to disc brakes [are] the constant rubbing, the potential for mechanicals, the overheating… personally I don't think the technology is quite where it needs to be yet."

At this year's Tour du Rwanda, Froome's long solo break on stage three was brought to an abrupt end by a laborious wheel change, one which led him to post on Instagram "Rim brakes > Disc brakes", followed by a trio of melting-face emojis.

In the present, however, the 38-year-old explained that he has grown to like the technology.

"When I first started riding with disc brakes, the industry was still quite new to disc brakes," he said. "No fault of Factor, but I think some of the components we were using on the bike weren't necessarily 100% compatible. We were running, for example, a Shimano braking system with different rotors, which weren't Shimano. 

"That combination, chopping and changing pieces of equipment, when I joined the team, wasn't a great thing for the disc brake scenario. It did lead to problems in the first year with the team. My intial impression of disc brakes on the road was skewed by that experience. 

"In the last year and a half of running disc brakes I've definitely had way less problems and it's been certainly a lot better, a much better experience for me. I have warmed to disc brakes. There's no two ways about it, it does take more maintenance, more work. But when it works, it is great."

Investing in Factor

Froome's trip to Taiwan to visit the Factor Bikes factory was the first time the four-time Tour de France winner had been to the HQ of the brand he invested in in 2021. The Kenyan-born rider had started riding Factors once he joined Israel Start-Up Nation that year, and the relationship blossomed from there.

"Even just a few months into the relationship I knew I wanted to get more involved with these guys, with the company," he explained. "I love the brand, but more than anything else, I love the product. I felt I was able to give feedback. It wasn't this massive corporate structure where if I said something it was going to get lost, it was going to translate into the bike. "

Calvin Chan, Factor's COO, said: "For Chris to say he was interested in this company and our product, and to invest in us, that's been amazing. The genesis of the partnership came after we had been working together for two months. He's not only a sponsored rider, he's one of our shareholders now.

"Chris was very quick to ask for more development work on our handlebars. He wanted something stiffer, something that could perform better in a race environment. If he didn't ask for it, we wouldn't have done it, and so this relationship is very authentic. This isn't just a marketing thing."

Froome explained that his two roles with Factor - as an investor, and as a professional cyclist riding the bikes - go "hand-in-hand".

"Being a competitive cyclist, you have an inherent interest in the equipment that you're riding," he said. "Having this channel, I feel I've got an amazing opportunity. Every bike rider wishes they could have a direct line to the factory to make changes happen. 

"Within months of saying about the handlebars, I had a finished product in my hands, ready to test. I'm not having to give feedback to one person and then chase it up and see if they've followed it up to someone else. I'm passionate about my equipment, I always have been, so the two just go together."

During his trip to the Factor factory, Froome was presented with a specially painted Factor O2 Vam, with details that reference his upbringing in Africa, his love of wildlife, and a Union Jack among others.

Back pain and bike fit

2023 has been a tough year for Chris Froome the bike rider, with Britain's greatest ever Grand Tour rider left out of the Tour de France, and missing out on a top-ten finish. 

Back in July, when asked if the 38-year-old has been value for money, Israel-Premier Tech's owner, Sylvan Adams, told Cycling Weekly: “Absolutely not. How could we say we had value for money? We signed Chris to be the leader of our Tour de France team and he’s not even here so that cannot be considered value for money."

Speaking on Wednesday, Froome said: "I don’t want to set a limit on what I’m able to achieve. I just want to get the best out of myself. I want to be able to look back once I’ve retired and say that I’ve given it everything, no regrets. 

"Whether that means winning a bike race again and putting my arms in the air, or just helping my teammates, I’m good with that. I think a lot of people really don't understand - you’ve won all the biggest Grand Tours in cycling, how can you be happy just to be a team player? And I genuinely just love racing. I love racing, I love being in the team environment, and whether that’s winning or not winning."

On Tour selection, he said: "I think I can only really control where I can get to as a bike rider and the preparation that I can do before the Tour de France to put myself in the best position to be chosen for the Tour next year."

Froome revealed that he had struggled with back pain this year, but that a recent bike fit made his issues go away, a simple fix.

"[I had an] an appointment with a bike set-up specialist, to go and really check and see all the angles. Basically to get closer to and try and copy the position that I was sitting at previously when I was winning races, and I found that there was actually a really big difference in those two set-ups. 

"So we’ve made some big, big changes in terms of my position, but I am feeling much better now. And interestingly the back pain has just disappeared, so I think that was very much down to how I was sitting on the bike."

Even as simple a switch as that has given him confidence, Froome said.

"This has given me a bit of newfound motivation I guess, in terms of thinking about next season and how I approach next year," he said. "I’ve got no expectations on myself, but at the same time, I would really like to get back to the pointy end of racing again, so that’s really given me that bit of hope now."

The biggest thing in cycling on Monday? Not the proposed merger between Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step, a move that could shake the very foundations of the sport, one which caused people to get all existential and wonder what the point of it all was. No.

The biggest thing in cycling was Chris Froome, the greatest Grand Tour rider of his generation, he of four Tours de France victories, deciding that it was time to post his latest viral video, a takedown of someone insufferable showing off their Bentley, juxtaposing it against Froome showing off his Bentley-level-bike.

You have to admit, it is at least a bit funny. It's Froome having fun, showing that there is more to him than relentlessly winning Grand Tours between 2013 and 2018. The sounds he makes when performing a gold-standard on-bike right turn indication, alone, are worth watching the video for. 

The original video is supposed to elicit ASMR, or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, the tingling sensation some people experience when they hear certain sounds - think the opposite of nails on a chalk board, but it's more an opportunity for a woman to show off her fancy car. 

Froome's satirical take on the Bentley ASMR isn't original - versions have been made to elicit that all-important tingle in response to trains, vans, and Citroëns - but it is the first to feature someone who has won all three Grand Tours in a row. 

I have many questions about the content: from who came up with the idea in the first place, to who is filming it, via how many takes the whole thing took. Is it an advert for the company that he is an investor in? Is it a bit of fun? Or is it both?

As Froome was being filmed touching his Factor O2 VAM, tapping his fingers on the frame, the hated disc brakes, and clicking his phone into his Quadlock mount, one wonders what was going through his mind, whether this is what he imagined life would be like at 38, and how this compares to his times winning the world's biggest bike races.

The video might be humorous, but it might also be the closest the Israel-Premier Tech rider has got to being in the popular imagination this year, with 14th at the Mercan'Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes the nearest Froome has got to finishing in the top ten.

He was not selected for the Tour de France, something he described as a "big letdown", and partly blamed on equipment, which might include the very bike that he is now being filmed endorsing. 

“Physically I was ready, but unfortunately I was unable to show my full ability at the races assigned to me due to equipment issues,” Froome told GCN at the time. “I’m obviously disappointed with the decision. The Tour de France holds an incredibly special place in my heart.”

Perhaps this video is a bit of a mea culpa for his criticisms in the past, to prove that it is all water under the bridge between the four-time Tour winner and his sponsors.

It is an odd time for Britain's greatest ever GC rider. He has two more years on his contract with Israel-Premier Tech, but he has not won a race since 2018, and it is difficult to know where he fits into the team's future plans.

Earlier this year, when asked if the 38-year-old has been value for money, the team's owner, Sylvan Adams, told Cycling Weekly: “Absolutely not. How could we say we had value for money? We signed Chris to be the leader of our Tour de France team and he’s not even here so that cannot be considered value for money. 

“This is not a PR exercise. Chris isn’t a symbol, he isn’t a PR tool, he’s supposed to be our leader at the Tour de France and he’s not even here, so no I couldn’t say he’s value for money, no.”

Froome has not raced since July, when he completed three stages of the Czech Tour, but he will be back at the five-day Tour of Hainan (October 5-9), before racing the one-day Japan Cup on October 15.

It does not seem like a particularly ideal situation for Froome, to just be racing small events and posting memes, or for Israel-Premier Tech, which probably expects a better return on investment for one of its bigger names.

Now might not be the time for any of that complicated talk, however. Perhaps we should just watch the ASMR  - feel happy that Froome looks happy - and enjoy the content. 

Sylvan Adams, Israel-Premier Tech’s owner, has said that Chris Froome has “absolutely not” been value for money, and cast doubt on the four-time Tour de France winner’s future career.

In an interview with Cycling Weekly and the RadioCycling podcast Adams didn’t hold back when asked about Froome’s contribution to the team since joining from Ineos Grenadiers before the start of the 2021 season.

Upon signing for Israel, Froome and his new employers made it clear that the Briton still believed he could mount a challenge towards a record-equalling fifth Tour win.

Adams added that he feels Froome’s underwhelming results for the team “have nothing to do with his injuries” sustained in a career- and a life-threatening injury at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June 2019.

Froome raced at both the 2021 and 2022 Tours de France, but was some way off the GC fight; his best result was third atop Alpe d'Huez last year, which also accounts for his highest-placed finish since his crash, and his only top-10 in the last four years.

It has been reported that Froome is on a multi-million euro annual wage, perhaps stretching to as much as €5m, and asked if the 38-year-old has been value for money, Adams responded: “Absolutely not. How could we say we had value for money? We signed Chris to be the leader of our Tour de France team and he’s not even here so that cannot be considered value for money. 

“This is not a PR exercise. Chris isn’t a symbol, he isn’t a PR tool, he’s supposed to be our leader at the Tour de France and he’s not even here, so no I couldn’t say he’s value for money, no.”

Adams admitted that recruiting Froome was risky given his injury and his age, but that the team had given him the platform to showcase his talents and had invested heavily into his rehabilitation.

The result, he claimed, had been less than satisfactory. “We had a double risk: the risk from the severity of his injuries and of course his advancing age,” Adams continued.

“Chris always felt he was a young rider, [and] he hasn’t done much racing. He started late, he was [mainly only] racing Grand Tours and his calendar was quite limited, [and] he believed in himself as a youngish rider. 

“With respect to his injuries, we were really innovative with bringing him back. We sent him to the Red Bull centre in Los Angeles, he worked with amazing specialists to rebalance his legs. Chris’ performances [nowadays] have nothing to do with his injuries in my observation. I don't think Chris is using that as an excuse anymore.

“We took a risk, but we were signing, as I said, the best Grand Tour rider of this generation, and I was willing to take the risk as we were a little team and overnight we were hoping to become contenders here at the Tour.

“It did raise our profile but this isn’t a PR exercise. My idea was, ‘wow, we’re going to have somebody to be relevant for the GC at the Tour de France’ and that hasn’t happened.”

Adams indicated that Froome’s initial three-year contract with the team comes to an end at the end of the current season, but despite his obvious unhappiness, that could be extended by a further year or two if Froome desires.

He explained: “Chris expressed, publicly I think, an interest in possibly riding until the age of 40. That would imply another two years after this year.

“The commitment I made to Chris was that he will retire on our team, so when he decides - with a ceiling of age 40 as those were the parameters we discussed - he wants to hang it up, it’ll be on his terms and that’s the personal commitment I made to Chris. He doesn’t have a five year contract exactly. But it can go up to five years if Chris so decides.”

Adams left the door open to Froome departing at the end of this year, pondering why the seven-time Grand Tour winner would want to continue racing in smaller races; his next race is scheduled to be the Czech Tour which begins on July 27.

Asked if Froome is considering retirement, Adams said “honestly I couldn’t say.” He elaborated: “If he started to show some results I guess he would be encouraged.

“If he just doesn’t produce results in lower tier races, would he really want to continue to be a pedestrian domestique on this team? That’s up to Chris. He has my personal commitment: he will retire as a member of Israel-Premier Tech.”

Israel-Premier Tech won stage nine of this year’s Tour on the Puy-de-Dôme courtesy of their Canadian veteran Michael Woods. It continues their good recent record in Grand Tours, with Derek Gee emerging as a superstar-in-the-making at May’s Giro d’Italia and the team winning two stages at last year’s Tour.

Adams, who repeatedly expressed his respect for Froome and his achievements, said that the Briton had not warranted being selected for this year’s edition.

“Which guy here on this team should we have left at home in order to give Chris a spot he didn’t earn?” he continued. “Because I can’t answer that question. These guys earned their spots and I feel good about the team I brought here. Chris I know was disappointed but he understood the decision. But of course he was disappointed because in his heart he believed he could eventually come here and perform.

“Not as a GC guy - and really we brought him as a GC guy, we didn’t sign him to be a stage hunter - and we all recognise, including Chris, he is not ready to compete for a GC podium, forget about winning, or even close to a podium, so if he wants to come here and hunt for stages he has got to displace one of these guys here and frankly he didn’t earn his spot.”

He added that “we gave him opportunities to ride in the Tour, like last year for example, when he hadn’t really earned his spot on the basis that Chris gets better in a three week race.”

Froome was approached for comment but did not respond in time for this article’s publication.

Four-time race winner Chris Froome has not been selected for the Tour de France this year, his Israel-Premier Tech team confirmed on Friday. 

The 38-year-old, who has competed in 10 Tours de France throughout his career, will therefore not take the start line in Bilbao on 1 July. It will be the first edition a fit Froome has missed since 2011.

Instead, Israel-Premier Tech will line up with Vuelta a España stage winner Michael Woods as their leader. The Canadian will be joined in the team's eight-man squad by Guillaume Boivin, Simon Clarke, Hugo Houle, Krists Neilands, Nick Schultz, Corbin Strong and Dylan Teuns.  

In a statement, team boss Kjell Carlström said: “It was a tough decision to select our Tour de France team this year but we feel we selected eight riders best suited to fulfilling our performance objectives. 

“The fact that we had a difficult decision to make when looking at our long list shows the strength and depth of our rider group, and unfortunately we could not select everyone. We carefully looked at the necessary roles to fill when it comes to hunting for stage wins and chose our eight riders accordingly.” 

Froome is considered as one of the greatest GC riders of his generation, winning the yellow jersey in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. 

In a recent interview with French outlet DirectVelo, the Brit revealed he had been struggling with a minor tendon injury at the start of the year, but that the Tour remained “the ultimate goal”. 

“It’s the race in which I’ve had my nicest feelings, where all the best riders in the world compete in their best form,” he said. “Obviously I’m not going to go to the Tour to fight for the overall, but if I can try to go for a stage win, that would be great.” 

At last year’s race, Froome climbed to an impressive third atop Alpe d’Huez on stage 12, having been part of the day’s breakaway. Still, the 38-year-old has not won a race since 2018, when he claimed his last Grand Tour title at the Giro d’Italia. 

Froome has only missed two Tours de France in the last decade - the 2019 and 2020 editions - after he crashed into a wall in a course recon at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné. He suffered fractures to his sternum, neck, femur, elbow and ribs, and also lost four pints of blood. 

Last year, he withdrew from the race in the third week with Covid.

On a hot, cloudless March day in 2009, a young Chris Froome took to the roads of Africa for the Cape Argus Giro del Capo Challenge. Riding for the British registered, Italian-based Barloworld team, Froome already had a Tour de France in his legs and comfortably won the first of three days of racing in South Africa against a small field of riders most of whom had never been anywhere near a Grand Tour. 

The former Kenyan mountain biker was still working life out as a professional rider, and that win was his third ever on a road bike. Days later he was back in Europe and settling into a season of more intense racing.

Looking back at his results that year with the benefit of hindsight – 36th overall in his first Giro d’Italia – there was clearly some potential there. Froome hadn’t grown up racing in Europe and the pro peloton is not a welcoming environment in which to learn your craft, but his results were solid enough, and singled him out as someone who wasn’t just there as cannon fodder.

Still, few would have predicted the 23-year-old who had recently started riding under his British passport would go on to win four Tours de France, a Giro d’Italia and two Vueltas a España in a palmarès that makes him the best Grand Tour rider of his generation. 

Fourteen years on, the 37-year old returned to Africa to race on the continent for the first time since his pre-WorldTour days, riding the Tour du Rwanda for Israel-Premier Tech. It might be his 14th year as an elite cyclist, but still he battles on, having survived a potential career-ending injury and worked tirelessly just to get to the point where he can feel comfortable on a bike.

Full circle

“It feels as if I’ve done a full circle now. Back in Africa again,” Froome tells Cycling Weekly, ahead of his week of racing in central Africa. “It feels a bit surreal to be racing in an African setting with a whole bunch of WorldTour teams. It’s pretty cool for the continent. It’s very much on the up. I really believe that Africa will be the continent in the next decade where we see a huge rise of professional cyclists coming through.”

Froome was born in Nairobi, and grew up in Kenya and South Africa before moving to Europe as an adult. He might not be the poster boy for African cycling, he rides under the GB flag, but Rwandan capital Kigali – 750km from the town of his birth – feels like home. Watching him in Rwanda is to see a man comfortable with himself, a man enjoying his surroundings. It’s a long way from the hidden away Froome from his Sky days.

“There’s a lot of colours that remind me of where I grew up,” he says. “The general culture and way of life. There are some interesting differences that make it good for cycling too, the roads are amazing.”

He might be “no spring chicken” at 37, but the Israel-Premier Tech rider was not just at the Tour du Rwanda for fun, he was aiming to kick-start his season, his third with the team. On stage five, the Friday after Froome spoke to CW in his Kigali hotel, he set off alone with more than 100km to race, in the pouring rain, in a manner that was redolent of his Giro d’Italia-winning move on stage 19 in 2018.

The usual Rwandese crowds would not have been present in the rain, but there would have been a real appreciation for the effort. The whole week, Froome was the star man at the race, a Tour de France champion actually there, metres away from fans.

Rwandese fans are interesting. They don’t cheer or get too close to the peloton like their counterparts in Europe, instead they stop and stare. To go from having no conception of bike racing to seeing a whole bunch go past must be mind-bending. No doubt they’ll learn to look out for discarded bidons.

Cruise control

However, despite a lead of over 30 seconds on the chasing Mikel Iturria (Euskaltel-Euskadi), and a minute over what was left of the peloton with 45km to go, Froome punctured, had two wheel changes, and crashed on a slippery descent, ending his big day out.

“There were definitely elements of my Giro ride today, elements of going into 100km time trial mode, and trying to ride a speed I could sustain for 100km,” Froome said. “It was a tough day, over 2,000m for a lot of the stage today, and I could really feel the altitude taking its toll.

“But that’s what I’m here for, and I’m really happy to do that. I’m here to get the hard miles in and set myself up for races to come.”

Passing time

That Giro, five years ago, which was sealed by that outrageous solo move, was the last time that Froome won a race. It was the culmination of Grand Tour wins that meant he was the champion of the Tour de France, Vuelta a España and Giro concurrently, an era-defining achievement.

“It feels like a lifetime ago,” Froome admits.

Much of the discourse that has centred around the four-time Tour winner has been about whether he can get back to the form that made him a Grand Tour winner, whether he can win a fifth Tour, the one that would put him on a par with Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault.

When Froome has been asked – repeatedly – whether he can win again, he answers in the affirmative, as he has always done. What is he supposed to do, tell the world that he thinks he is done, that he has little chance of winning the race that his whole career has been centred around?

Back from the brink

Four years ago, during a recon of the time trial course at the Critérium du Dauphiné, the then 34-year-old crashed violently, threatening his life and his career.

It took a long time and a lot of hard work on and off the bike for Froome to get back to a point where he felt comfortable and pain-free on a bike.

All this while trying to renegotiate his contract with Team Sky who he’d been riding with since it launched in 2010, before eventually switching to a lucrative deal with Sylvan Adams’s Israel Start-Up Nation team. It was clearly a stressful period, and Froome, with his glittering palmarès, could easily have taken retirement. But one gets the sense that cycling is everything to him, it’s all he has known for much of his life, and the journey back to being a useful professional rider again was necessary.

When he is on a bike, having fun, as he was in Rwanda, you get a sight of the real man, the one that hasn’t had the joy media-trained out of him. You also see this in his YouTube channel, something he has started since his Sky/Ineos days.

“There are parts of cycling that become a lot more like work,” he explains. “When you’re doing massive intervals, you’re low on fuel, it sometimes feels like hard work. But then there are days like yesterday [when Froome helped launch Israel- Premier Tech’s Rwanda project], where you get to just enjoy yourself, on a pump track, or go out for an easier relaxed ride. That kind of stuff makes it worth the harder days when it does feel like work and the weather’s grim, and you don’t want to be out on the bike.

“There were times where I was in pain on the bike, and that was tough. But that was a part of the rehab process. I knew I’d have to go through to get to now, where I’m pain-free, and it feels like I can just get stuck into it again.”

The present and the future

Froome does not think about his cycling legacy. That’s for other people to debate and mull over. He knows that his career will not last forever, but won’t entertain thoughts of how he will be remembered: “It’s not really something I think about.”

However, he is thinking about the future of cycling, especially in terms of helping those who don’t have access to the same pathways as he did. The 37-year-old is investing in a community project in Kenya for getting children into cycling, details of which he is coy on.

“It’s something that I’ve wanted to do, but never really been able to dedicate the time to while I’ve been professional,” he explains. “I’ve managed to team up with some people who are going to be able to make it happen. I’ll have more on that in the coming months.

“It’s about the joy that can be brought in and what it will do to the community as a whole. It’s a continued project for perpetual uplift for the community.”

Another part of Froome’s future in cycling is the investments he holds in multiple brands – Hammerhead, Factor and Quadlock to name three. “I like to invest in companies and people who I believe in and when I believe in the product and the people behind the project,” he says. “It’s a way for me to stay involved in the cycling world, I guess beyond cycling. I’m certainly at the tail-end of my career now, I’m no spring chicken anymore. It has been something that I’ve been thinking about.”

However, while he has been trying to get back to his best possible self, the sport of cycling has moved on. Froome has only raced in five events against Tadej Pogačar and two times against Remco Evenepoel, but never challenged them for the overall.

“I feel that the wealth of knowledge has changed the sport drastically,” Froome says. “Having the data from guys racing at the highest level, having that available publicly, through Strava, or whatever else, and for coaches and trainers to be able to then apply that data to kids of the age of 15, 16. This means that we’ve got kids who are turning pro at 19, 20. They’ve been training like Grand Tour winners for five years already.

“I only turned professional at the age of 24. I spent a good four or five years making mistakes and trying to learn how to train, learn how to eat, how to be professional, basically. Whereas these kids are learning that in their teens, and getting all the mistakes out of the way by the time they actually turn pro. I think the sport really has changed a lot in that sense.”

New school, new skills

A rider like Pogačar or Evenepoel seems vastly different from Froome, able to race across the season for different objectives, rather than pinning it all on one yellow jersey.

“I have massive, massive respect for Pogačar,” Froome says. “I know what it takes to win a Grand Tour and how I’ve had to train to give myself the best chance of winning. I feel it has really blunted my ability in one-day races. So I’m amazed. For me, it’s always been one or the other, you see guys who have the ability to go three weeks, or you can have your one-day specialists

“To see him perform the way he does in one day races with an extremely punchy style of racing, explosive style of racing, then do the same over three weeks as well… It’s mind blowing.”

Five years on from his last win, the 37-year-old is finally back at a place where he can enjoy cycling again, ride pain-free. A valedictory victory would finish his career off nicely, but it might not be coming fast. However, he will keep riding on for as long as he can.

Two wheel changes and a crash ended Chris Froome's lengthy solo breakaway effort at the Tour du Rwanda on Thursday, one of the Israel-Premier Tech rider's best chances at victory since 2018.

The 37-year-old set off alone with more than 100km to go on stage five of the African race, in the pouring rain, in a manner that was redolent of his Giro d'Italia winning move on stage 19 in 2018.

However, despite a lead of over 30 seconds on the chasing Mikel Iturria (Euskaltel-Euskadi), and a minute over what was left of the peloton with 45km to go, Froome punctured, had two wheel changes, and crashed on a slippery descent, ending his big day out.

Speaking after his two-hour solo move on Thursday, he said that it was a "rough day" and that he was try to go into "time trial mode" for 100km to win the stage, and possible the race overall.

Froome said: "I felt that I wanted to have a crack at it. You could see the whole peloton, everyone was pegged about halfway through. I thought I'd go for it, get stuck in and see what I had in the legs. 

"The goal for me was to get over that last climb on my own and see if I could make it down to the finish."

It was the first puncture, combined with an inadequate wheel replacement, which ended Froome's effort; the crash which came later merely put a disappointing cap on what could have been a special day. However, the four-time Tour de France winner was happy with his performance afterwards.

"I wasn't far off, I think I had about a 30 to 45 second lead on the Euskatel guy behind me and about a minute and a half on the peloton," he explained. "But I got a front wheel puncture and didn't have a team car behind me, so it wasn't easy to get another wheel, I managed to get something from neutral service but it wasn't compatible, so I had to change again after that. 

"Then the peloton caught me, surged over the top of the climb, and that's where the lights went out for me."

"I was chasing with a couple of guys to try and get back on the descent," he said about the circumstances of his crash. "But I came round a corner and the Quick-Step car had stopped, one of their riders had crashed, so I came round the corner on the limit and I had to abandon the road and get off into the ditch, so I scratched myself up a little bit. 

"Thankfully I don't think there's any damage, other than ending up in the ditch."

In 2018, Froome won his last race, the Giro d'Italia, which was secured thanks to an 80km solo breakaway in the Alps, which showcased the Briton's ability to win races in a unique manner. However, five years later, after the horror crash he endured while on a recon ride of a time-trial at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June 2019, he looked almost like his former self. 

Since his move Ineos to Israel-Premier Tech, his old form has proved elusive, but he said on Thursday that his effort will help him for the rest of the season.

"There were definitely elements of my Giro ride today, elements of going into 100km time trial mode, and trying to ride a speed I could sustain for 100km," Froome said. "It was a tough day, over 2,000m for a lot of the stage today, and I could really feel the altitude taking its toll. 

"But that's what I'm here for, and I'm really happy to do that. I'm here to get the hard miles in and set myself up for races to come."

Callum Ormiston, riding for the South Africa team, won Thursday's stage five, while William Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step Development) took the race lead. There are three more stages.

Good morning and welcome to today's live blog. Apparently it's Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year, so make sure you look out for yourself and do something you enjoy (*cough* ride your bike *cough*), if you can. 

I'll be here all day rounding up the latest cycling news, especially for you. If you'd like to have your say, feel free to drop me a line on Twitter. My handle is @t_davidson. 

Latest updates:

9:09 - Alex Manly sprints into the lead at Santos Tour Down Under 

9:43 - Topless climate protesters arrested at Tour Down Under

11:03 - Tributes paid to Lieuwe Westra, who died aged 40 on Saturday

11:24 - Strava offers price hike rationale

12:02 - Chris Froome targets 'top level', dismisses retirement

12:48 - The new cyclo-cross national champions

14:20 - Scott recall road and gravel models due to 'cracking' hazard

14:46 - Toon Aerts takes on part-time PE teacher role

15:05 - EF Education-EasyPost partners with junior cycling program

15:34 - Bradley Wiggins eyes future after punditry

16:31 - UCI issues update to individual time trial rules

17:01 - Chad Haga pens Sound of Music inspired song

Alex Manly storms into Tour Down Under lead after stage two

In the early hours of this morning, when the Australian sun was shining, Jayco AlUla's Alex Manly sprinted to victory in stage two of the Santos Tour Down Under, claiming the race's orange leader's jersey. 

The 26-year-old Australian beat her compatriot Georgia Baker (EF Education-Tibco-SVB) to the line, where she took 12 bonus seconds to move into the overall lead. 

The race played out over a lumpy 90km course between Birdwood and Uraidla in the Adelaide hills. 

Baker currently trails Manly by eight seconds in the GC, with FDJ-Suez's Grace Brown also at eight seconds in third. 

Climate protesters arrested after baring breasts at Tour Down Under

Three women, who uncovered their breasts to the passing peloton at the Women's Santos Tour Down Under, have been arrested in South Adelaide, Australia, charged with indecent exposure. 

The women, aged between 69 and 74, were allegedly part of a climate protest against the race's title sponsor, Santos, a leading oil and gas producer. 

"We are baring our ageing breasts and our wobbly bums in the hope of shocking," one protester said at the race. "We want people to see that this company is not benevolent. It is prepared to destroy future life on earth in order to make profits." 

Last week, Tour Down Under director Stuart O'Grady said he hoped environmental protesters would act peacefully, and not impede on the safety of the riders. 

"Everyone has got their right to their own opinion, to protest, do what they may, but I don’t think blocking the cycling tracks and getting on course would be very wise," he said. "And if that starts becoming a liability or a danger to the riders then that’s going to escalate it to a whole other level and that wouldn’t be good for anybody."

The three women have been released on bail and will appear at a later date before Christies Beach Magistrates court.

Retired pro Lieuwe Westra dies, aged 40

Tributes have been paid to retired Dutch rider Lieuwe Westra, who died aged 40 on Saturday. 

The former Astana rider, who took 13 victories throughout his 11-year career, was found unresponsive at work in Zwaagdijk, Netherlands. His biographer, Thomas Sijtsma, later confirmed that he had passed away, despite CPR attempts to resuscitate him.

"The former cyclist fought with himself in recent years and lost," Sijtsma wrote on Twitter. "Rest in peace, beast."

Westra suffered with depression after finishing his career in 2017. "Lieuwe Westra had a very hard time in recent months," Sijtsma said. "But as far as is known, there is no suggestion of suicide." 

Westra's former team-mate Johnny Hoogerland, who he rode alongside at Vacansoleil, wrote: "Lieuwe my friend. What happened to you the last years? We are so terribly sad that your life ended already today. I'm very sorry that we could not help you more. Will never forget what you did for me when we were teammates. Find your rest above us."

His former team, Astana Qazaqstan, also tweeted: "We are shocked by the dreadful news about the untimely death of Lieuwe Westra... we express our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones…"

Strava responds to price hike criticism

Exercise tracking app Strava has responded to criticism of its recent subscription price hikes, announced earlier this month. 

First reported by BikeRadar, the company looks set to increase the price of its monthly subscription from £6.99 to £8.99 and its annual membership from £47.99 to £54.99.

In a statement shared last week, Strava said: "As we continue to invest in your experience, our prices may change to better reflect new features and market conditions. The decision to change our price was not taken lightly.

The company gave its rationale for the price hikes, citing new features, product updates and local market conditions. Price changes, it added, will vary depending on region and preferred platform.

The full statement can be accessed on Strava's website. 

Chris Froome sets sights on return to 'top level'

Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome has said he's "looking to get to the top level" as he readies himself for his season debut at the Santos Tour Down Under. 

The Israel Premier Tech rider was was taken into intensive care in 2019 after crashing into a wall in a course recon at the Critérium du Dauphiné. He suffered fractures to his sternum, neck, femur, elbow and ribs, and also lost four pints of blood. He returned to WorldTour racing eight months later, but has since struggled to regain his form.

Speaking in a pre-race press conference on Sunday, Froome said: "I feel I've been given a second chance. I've been given an opportunity to come back to bike racing and the sport I love. Had the crash marked the end of my career, I'd have felt I still had more to give.

The 37-year-old added that he still gets a lot of pleasure from cycling and is enjoying his time at Israel-Premier Tech. "It's as if I've rewound 15 years," he said, "I'm looking to get to the top level. It's a fresh approach for me and hoping to do it for a few more years."

Froome also revealed that he will travel to Africa for next month's Tour de Rwanda, scheduled for 19-26 February.

The Tour Down Under will start tomorrow at 7:30 GMT (8:30 CET) with a 5.5km time trial prologue in Adelaide, Australia.  

Cyclo-cross national champions crowned

In case you missed it, a number of country's held their national cyclo-cross championships over the weekend. Here's a list of the winners to look out for in the season's remaining races: 

UK 

Men's elite: Cameron Mason 

Women's elite: Zoe Bäckstedt

Cycling Weekly reporter Tom Thewlis spent the day in the mud in Cumbria on Sunday. You can catch his race report here.  

Netherlands 

Men's elite: Lars van der Haar

Women's elite: Puck Pieterse 

Belgium 

Men's elite: Michael Vanthourenhout

Women's elite: Sanne Cant

France

Men's elite: Clément Venturini 

Women's elite: Hélène Clauzel

Italy

Men's elite: Filippo Fontana

Women's elite: Silvia Persico

Spain

Men's elite: Felipe Orts

Women's elite: Lucía Gónzalez Blanco

Scott recalls road and gravel models due to 'cracking' hazard

Scott bikes has issued a voluntary recall of certain models from its 2022 Speedster and Gravel line-up due to a potential issue with the forks.

In-house testing found that the steerer tube/fork bridge can break without warning, with the recall notice describing “cracking within the fork steerer”. Naturally, such a failure presents a serious crash hazard for users.

However, despite the recall, done in cooperation with national recall authorities, Scott has stated that there have been no cases or reports of fork failure or related accidents to date and as such the recall is a pre-emptive move.

For more information, check out the full story written by Cycling Weekly Tech reporter Luke Friend. 

Toon Aerts working as a PE teacher while he faces two-year ban 

Suspended cyclo-cross racer Toon Aerts has reportedly taken up a new job as a PE teacher in his native Belgium. 

The 29-year-old returned a positive test result for the banned substance letrozole earlier this year and is currently facing a two-year ban from competition. 

Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad about his new role, Aerts said: “I was looking for a job and heard through the grapevine that they were looking for someone there.

"There were students who recognised me immediately, others didn’t know who I am at all. I assume that the first group will inform the second about my story. That will go around quickly. I didn’t get any comments about it and I think that’s good. I like to keep those things separate.”

The Belgian has not raced since February 2022 and denies all allegations of doping. He has said he will do everything to prove his innocence, arguing that letrozole must have entered his body through contamination. 

“I am convinced that I will take my place in cyclocross again," he said last month. "I have a lot of uncertainties, but one thing is certain: my second career will start on February 16, 2024 at the latest.”

EF Education-EasyPost partners with junior squad

WorldTour team EF Education-EasyPost has joined forces with ONTO, one of North America's most promising junior cycling programs. 

The partnership, which will see the junior squad compete as EF Education-ONTO, seeks to develop the next generation of cycling talent in the US, and prepare them for careers as professionals. 

In a press release shared this afternoon, EF team manager Jonathan Vaughters said: "I hope that this project shows that talented kid in Ohio, or Québec, or Los Angeles, who might have seen the Tour de France on Instagram and decided that they want to be a bike racer, that they can get there if they work hard and commit to it.

"We’re going to be keeping a close eye on North American junior races. Prove yourself there, and EF Education-ONTO could be your shot to learn what it takes to race as a pro and show what you can do against the best in the world.”

Is Bradley Wiggins's punditry career coming to a close? 

Former Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins has hinted that he might soon draw the curtain on his punditry career, adding that he is currently out of contract with Eurosport. 

In an interview with Mail on Sunday, the Brit said there is "no longevity" in punditry.

"I’ve actually not extended my contract with Eurosport," he said, "so I don’t know if I’m going to be doing that this year.

"I really don’t want to be on Eurosport in 10 years’ time, doing cycling from the back of a motorbike. I’m just going with the flow at the moment."

Wiggins has been part of Eurosport's cycling team since 2019, and has his own podcast with the channel, which was last updated in July last year. Asked what he hopes to do in the future, the former cyclist said: "I do the punditry, but that all comes easy, and there's no longevity in it." 

He added that he would like to work with grass-roots social campaigns, such as the NSPCC's recently launched Listen Up, Speak Up, which he is backing.

"The social worker idea was just the start of a process moving towards something completely different, something fulfilling," he said. 

UCI tightens time trial rules

The UCI has today updated its rules surrounding individual time trials, writing that vehicles must now remain at least 25 metres behind the rider. 

The rule, which was previously updated from 10 metres to 15 metres in November last year, aims to prevent riders from gaining an unfair aerodynamic advantage. 

A study by the Eindhoven University of Technology found that a car driving 10 metres behind the athlete offers an advantage of 0.05 of a second per kilometre at 46.8km/h. This is equivalent to one second in a 20km time trial.  

At 15 metres, there is no advantage. 

The UCI said: "After consultation with the parties concerned, the decision was taken to increase the minimum distance between the rider and the following vehicle to 25 m. This distance, which is greater than the stated 15 m, ensures that the presence of vehicles does not have an effect on the performance of the cyclist.

"Furthermore, the 25 m distance aims to increase rider safety by providing the driver of the vehicle with longer reaction times in the case of an unexpected mishap or incident."

The rule does not apply to vehicles in the race convoy, which are allowed to go within closer proximity to the riders. Anyone who drives dangerously in the convoy may be suspended for up to seven days and dealt a fine.  

Chad Haga pens Sound of Music inspired song

Human Powered Health's Chad Haga has written a song to pass the time on his team training camp.

The lyrics, written to the tune of 'My Favourite Things' from The Sound of Music, are inspired by his ongoing struggle with patience in between training efforts. 

So here it goes. Warm up those vocal cords, dig out a karaoke version of the original song and sing along.

"Standing by roadsides
The time keeps on slippin'
We should get moving
But we just don't clip in 

We did our efforts
Now let's move along
This is my "can we please get moving" song"

Now we're heading into chorus...

"There's no reason
To just stand here
We've been here long enough 

I don't like this down time, there's still far to go
and standing around is slowwwww"

That's all for today's live blog. If you want some entertaining evening reading, check out my colleague Adam Becket's exposé on Tadej Pogacar's hair tufts. 

Do they form naturally, or might the Slovenian be pulling them through his helmet deliberately?  

Good morning and welcome to another Cycling Weekly live blog. The year's only just begun and already we're less than two weeks from the start of the road season, which opens at the Tour Down Under in Australia.

Join me, Tom Davidson, as I gather all the latest news in the world of cycling. I'll also bring you coverage of today's X20 Trofee cyclo-cross races in Koksijde, which starts at 12:45 (GMT). 

Latest updates:

9:29 - Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas to kick off 2023 at Tour Down Under

9:54 - Race website appears to leak new EF Education-EasyPost kit

10:32 - Police yet to track down two suspects in Mark Cavendish home robbery trial

11:12 - Paris-Nice route unveiled

11:58 - Rayner Foundation reveals list of 24 supported riders for 2023

12:45 - Live coverage of the X20 cyclo-cross racing in Koksijde

13:30 - Shirin van Anrooij wins women's elite cyclo-cross race in Koksijde

15:00 - Wout van Aert takes sixth cyclo-cross victory of the season

15:20 - Rapha release official images of new EF Education kits

Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas to open seasons at Tour Down Under

British Tour de France winners Chris Froome (Israel Premier-Tech) and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) will begin their road calendar at the Tour Down Under in Australia, which starts on 17 January. 

The five-stage race marks the first WorldTour event of the season and will open in Adelaide with a short time trial prologue. 

Other notable names on the start list, which was released last night, include Giro d'Italia winner Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), two-time world time trial champion Rohan Dennis (Jumbo-Visma) and current British time trial champion Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers).

The full start list can be found on the race's website. 

EF Education-EasyPost kit leaked? 

A jersey design, thought to be EF Education-EasyPost's kit for 2023, has been shared on the Tour Down Under's website. 

The three-tone pink design bears a blank Rapha armband and was attached to the Australian race's start list, alongside the names of the team's seven riders expected to participate in the event.  

EF Education-EasyPost are yet to officially unveil their new jersey, which they tend to do later than other teams. 

The design looks almost identical to one worn by the team's new signing Andrey Amador in a now deleted photo on social media. 

Two men at large in Mark Cavendish home robbery

Police are still searching for two men suspected to have been involved in an armed robbery at the home of British national road champion Mark Cavendish in November 2021. 

In an ongoing trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, the jury heard how Cavendish and his wife, Peta, were threatened at knifepoint by intruders, who stole items including two Richard Mille watches, worth £400,000 and £300,000. 

Two of the suspects have denied two counts of robbery, while a further two are yet to be tracked down by the police. 

In September last year, a 28-year-old man from East London admitted his involvement and pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery. 

ASO release 2023 Paris-Nice route

Race organisers ASO have today unveiled the route for this year's edition of Paris-Nice, one of the key precursor stage races to the Grand Tours. 

The eight-day race will begin in La Verrière on the outskirts of Paris on 5 March, before making it's way south to the Mediterranean city of Nice. The riders will tackle a 32.2km team time trial on stage three and will face a mountaintop finish on the Col de la Couillole (15.7km at 7.1%) on the penultimate day. 

All 18 WorldTour teams will be present, including riders such as Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), Romain Bardet (DSM) and David Gaudu (Groupama FDJ). ProTeams Lotto Dstny, TotalEnergies, Israel-Premier Tech and Uno-X, the latter two receiving wildcard invitations. 

Last year, the race was won by three-time Vuelta a España winner Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) ahead of Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla).

Full details of the route, as well as the map, can be found below: 

Sunday, March 5th, stage 1: La Verrière > La Verrière, 169,4 km
Monday, March 6th, stage 2: Bazainville > Fontainebleau, 163,7 km
Tuesday, March 7th, stage 3: Dampierre-en-Burly > Dampierre-en-Burly (T.T.T), 32,2 km
Wednesday, March 8th, stage 4: Saint-Amand-Montrond > La Loge des Gardes, 164,7 km
Thursday, March 9th, stage 5: Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise > Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, 212,4 km
Friday, March 10th, stage 6: Tourves > La-Colle-sur-Loup, 197,4  km
Saturday, March 11st, stage 7: Nice > Col de la Couillole, 142,9 km
Sunday, March 12nd, stage 8: Nice > Nice, 118,4 km

Rayner Foundation announces supported riders for 2023

The Rayner Foundation, a UK cycling charity, has shared its list of supported riders for the 2023 season. 

A total of 24 male riders will receive funds and other assistance from the charity as they pursue cycling careers abroad. The full list can be found on the website. 

The Rayner Foundation will also continue to run its 'Gateway' scheme next year, supporting women's teams and junior riders overseas. 

The charity enjoyed its most successful year in 2022, with six riders signing professional contracts. Of the six, four stepped up to the men’s WorldTour, with Leo Hayter joining Ineos Grenadiers, Sam Watson graduating into Groupama FDJ’s elite squad, Sean Flynn signing with Team DSM and Harrison Wood swapping AVC Aix for Cofidis. 

Josie Nelson and Millie Couzens also both joined women’s Continental outfits for the upcoming road season, signing for Team Coop-Hitec Products and Plantur-Pura respectively.  

Originally launched in 1995, the Rayner Foundation supports young British riders who opt to travel abroad to cut their teeth in road racing. To date, the charity has provided financial support to hundreds of riders, including the recently retired Dan Martin, 2020 Giro d’Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart, as well as his former Ineos Grenadiers teammate Adam Yates. 

X20 Trofee Duinencross Koksijde gets underway!

Today's cyclo-cross racing from the Koksijde airbase in Flanders is now underway. 

In the opening moments, a crash brought down a few riders as they sprinted for the first corner. The race favourites - Fem van Empel, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Shirin van Anrooij - are all upright and near the front on the first lap. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Van Anrooij has started excellently, pulling away from her competitors. The 20-year-old won three of her six races last months and has clearly kept her fine form into 2023. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: After the first lap, Van Anrooij leads by 11 seconds, ahead of former world champions Lucinda Brand and Alvarado. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: European champion Van Empel moves through into second. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Van Anrooij still has a healthy lead at the front of this race. Brand is trying to close the gap to second-placed Van Empel, which is getting drawn out in the sand sections. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Let's not forget, Van Anrooij is a master of the sand ruts. The Dutchwoman won by almost a minute last month at the Exact Cross in Mol, a course almost entirely covered in sand. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: This will be a five-lap race. Van Empel trails Van Anrooij by 13 seconds after the second lap. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Van Empel is closing the gap on Van Anrooij. The European champion has been able to ride more of the sand than her compatriot, and is managing to claw back the metres. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Van Anrooij has a few lapped riders to deal with here as she continues to lead in Koksijde. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: We're into the final lap! Van Anrooij's advantage has been cut to 11 seconds. This is going to be a two-up battle for the win. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: The third-placed rider, Brand, is over a minute down on Van Anrooij here. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Van Empel gets into a bit of trouble on the course's long sand section. She loses a few seconds, which might well hand victory to Van Anrooij. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Women’s Elite: Van Anrooij secures the win! After taking the lead just moments into the race, the 20-year-old looked assured around the sandy course. Van Empel put the pressure on, but couldn't close the gap on her compatriot. 

That's five victories this season for Van Anrooij, who wins by 14 seconds in Koksijde. Van Empel finishes second, with Brand crossing the line in third at 1-09. 

Brand remains the top of the X20 Badkamers Trofee classifcation, but her lead over Van Empel has been reduced considerably.

Join us for coverage of the men's race at 2pm. 

Mathieu Van der Poel and Wout van Aert set to face off in Koksijde cyclo-cross

We're moment's away from the start of the men's elite race in Koksijde. 

This will be the eighth meeting between Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel this season. So far, the advantage is with the Belgian, who has four victories to his long-term rival's three. 

World champion Tom Pidcock is not on the start list for this event. 

We're off in Koksijde!

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Laurens Sweeck gets a good start in the men's elite race. As does Toon Vandebosh, who leads the race. 

Van der Poel is currently third wheel, waiting for his chance to pounce. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Sweeck is drawing out an advantage. Van der Poel and Van Aert are in hot pursuit behind.  

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van der Poel powers into the lead. As Sweeck puts a foot down on a sandy incline, the Dutchman stays on his bike and kicks ahead. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van der Poel leads by five seconds ahead of Sweeck and Van Aert as they cross the line for the first time. Van Aert then makes his way into second wheel. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: The rain is starting to fall in Koksijde. This race is about to get a lot more dramatic. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van der Poel and Van Aert are together at the front of the race. How many times have you read that sentence before? 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert and Van der Poel are trading places at the front of the race. Sweeck is holding their wheel, for the moment at least. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: The three leading riders take the same time over the line at the end of lap two. Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is the next best rider, 18 seconds behind in fourth. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert pits for a bike change. He slips slightly on the mud, but stays upright and intact with the front group.  

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: The trio are all still together as they head into lap four of eight. It'd be hard to pick a winner between them at this point.

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Sweeck is losing contact with Van der Poel and Van Aert. He's battling to close the gap, but as he runs through the sand, Van Aert attacks off the front. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert has opened up a big gap here. At the midway point, the Belgian champion leads Van der Poel by 18 seconds and is showing no signs of relenting. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van der Poel is struggling in the deep sand ruts. The gap is now around 40 seconds to race leader Van Aert, who is running away with it in Koksijde. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Three laps remain. Van der Poel stands up on the pedals and stretches out his back. 

The Dutchman withdrew from cyclo-cross racing last season due to an ongoing back injury. He's currently 52 seconds behind Van Aert.  

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert picks up a clean bike in the pits. He looks determined and dominant, as he has for most of this cyclo-cross season. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: At the end of lap six, Van Aert's advantage sits at well over a minute. 1-15, to be exact. 

Barring accident or injury, the Belgian will take his sixth victory of the season in Koksijde. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert heads, alone, into the final lap. He's showing no signs of letting up, though.

The Belgian knows that on such an attritional course as this one, mistakes can happen at any moment. He's making sure he doesn't make any. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert deals a thumbs up to his crew as he passes the pits for the last time. Victory is all but certain for the Belgian. 

X20 Trofee Koksijde Men's Elite: Van Aert wins in Koksijde! The Belgian punches the air twice as he crosses the line, before stepping off his bike and kissing his partner. 

Van der Poel finishes in second, 1-38 later. Sweeck takes a solid third, at 2-06. 

I'll have a full race report up on the site in due course. 

Rapha officially unveil EF Education kits for 2023

After a few social media leaks, cycling clothing company Rapha have now officially unveiled the kit to be worn by WorldTour teams EF Education-EasyPost and EF Education-Tibco-SVB next season. 

Commenting on the design in a press release, EF Pro Cycling wrote: "Our classic pink remains present in our updated kit, but with each panel of the jersey incorporating a different shade, a nod to the past, present and future of the team."

The men's team will return to wearing black bib shorts next season, having gone green in 2022, with sponsor names in white text. 

This design marks five years of Rapha's partnership with the EF's men's team, and two years with its women's team. The company have said the kits will be available commercially in the spring. 

For details of all the 2023 team kits, visit our round-up page. 

That ties up today's live blog. You can read the full report from today's cyclo-cross races over on our website. You'll also find news of cycling brand VeloVixen's liquidation and a feature on gravel riding in Patagonia. 

We'll be back tomorrow with more updates from the world of cycling. 

It must be a hard life being one of the most successful professional cyclists of the 21st century. Once you have counted up your seven Grand Tour titles and 46 career wins, you must have the same problems as the rest of us.

This is Chris Froome's situation, as the 37-year-old Israel-Premier Tech rider took to social media on Thursday afternoon to take action against his problems with GoPro. Now, far be it for me to suggest how Froome should tackle his problems with technology, but it does seem a little unfair for someone with 1.5 million followers on Twitter to complain so publicly. Maybe it was his last course of action, and we can only hope that the camera company were quick to get in touch with him.

It was just one of the many exciting things to happen on social media in the world of cycling this week. That might be overselling it, but it is slim pickings as we edge through December. 

There was also Tadej Pogačar on an e-bike, which does seem like cheating to me, Anna Henderson graduating, and the continuing adventures of Annemiek van Vleuten. Read on for some light entertainment.

1. Chris Froome might have won the Tour de France four times, but he can't get good customer service from GoPro

2. Despite being rich beyond my wildest dreams, it's nice that Froome still takes advantage of the sales

3. It has been a long time since I've looked as happy on a bike as Letizia Paternoster does here, maybe I need to go somewhere warmer

4. Alex Dowsett, now retired from professional cycling, might end up going to Thailand to find himself

4. It's good to see Geraint Thomas do his bit for the community, despite his training load this December

5. The greatest endurance athlete of the 21st century, and Eliud Kipchoge

6. Football is back today! Here is Pele on a bike

7. Tadej Pogačar really does not need any more advantages on a bike

8. Cycling and fashion really shouldn't mix... Let's wait to see these on the peloton at the Giro next year before judging though

9. If you like fancy graphics, then here's one showing just how much racing Tom Pidcock, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel do. They never stop!

10. Congratulations to Anna Henderson, who as well as being one of the brightest prospects in British cycling has managed to graduate from the University of Birmingham at the same time. Easy.

11. Apparently the man in the second photo is Steve Cummings. I'm not so sure. It could be any bald man really

12. Michał Kwiatkowski: Milan-San Remo winner, former world champion and super domestique, now... future Wimbledon winner?

13. How many rice cakes is too many? 200 sounds like a lot

14. Forget bikes, skiing is the new off-season training method

15. Although, maybe you could combine bikes and skis?

16. And finally, Manchester City Council want you to cycle, but not safely on this bit of road

Chris Froome has highlighted the long-term effects that he suffered after contracting Covid, and says that many riders are suffering months later after battling with the virus.

The Israel-Premier Tech rider picked up Covid for the first time at this year’s Tour de France, forcing him to abandon the race. Froome then returned to competition at the Vuelta a España, but after a largely disappointing race, explained that he concluded the season “not feeling good.” 

In a video shared on his official YouTube channel, Froome explained that dealing with Covid “really knocked him for six” and that he found it difficult to come back from that. 

"I came out of the season not feeling good. I feel I really needed a break. COVID really knocked me for six," Froome said. 

"I just wasn't able to come back from that. I never felt like I had lots of energy on the bike. I went to the Vuelta to build through the race but all the way through I felt flat, flat, flat."

Froome also explained that he believes his VO2 max was definitely affected by the virus, and that it can produce some “strange heart rate readings”. 

The Israel-Premier Tech rider recently travelled to Israel for physiological testing and registered a VO2 max of 72.1, normalised to 75 if he was at race weight. In 2015, when Froome underwent testing in a bid to quell suspicion surrounding his performances, he registered a score of 84.6 normalised to 88.2.

As well as the issue with his VO2 max, Froome explained that conversations with other professional riders has revealed to him some of the other effects that Covid can have. 

"There's definitely a heavy impact on the heart, having COVID. It's not just like having the flu, like a lot of people think, especially for pro riders," Froome said. 

"From those I've spoken to within the peloton, a lot of guys are really struggling with after-effects two or three months down the line - feeling fatigue, feeling as if they don't have the same energy levels, strange heart rate readings as well."

"It was good to go to Israel, do a whole load of physiological tests, go and check VO2 max, which was definitely affected by having COVID. So some heart checks which was important as well just to check that everything was all right," he added. 

Looking ahead to the 2023 season, Froome has suggested that he could begin his campaign at the Tour Down Under, although with Israel-Premier Tech due to drop out of the WorldTour, nothing is fully confirmed. 

Froome recently slammed the WorldTour relegation system, calling it a “death sentence” for many smaller teams.

Chris Froome has criticised the UCI WorldTour relegation system branding it a “death sentence for many teams”. 

Speaking to Spanish news outlet MARCA at the recent Tour de France Saitama criterium in Japan, the four-time Tour champion said he was encouraged by his progress on the bike this season in his return from injury, and has vowed to keep working in 2023. 

One stumbling block for Froome’s plans could be the fact that his team, Israel-PremierTech, are set to be relegated from the WorldTour. The team finished outside of the top-18 ranked teams at the end of 2022, and did not meet the relevant criteria to stay at the top level of cycling next season. 

The team has, however, vowed to take their fight for a WorldTour spot to court.

On the controversial system, Froome said: “Being a three-year system, I think this system is a death sentence for many teams. A lot of structures literally live year after year and if you have to tell a team that you're potentially not going to be in the Tour de France for the next three years, a lot of teams will just close their doors.” 

Froome explained that instead of the current setup, he would like to see regulations changed to a one-year system instead. 

“Personally, I would love to see this change to a one-year system. If you're relegated, it's kind of a wake-up call to get you back up, but if you miss three years, you could be losing two teams every time that happens,” he added.

Froome also slammed the UCI’s points system due to it being weighted towards second-tier races. 

Israel-PremierTech won two stages at the 2022 Tour de France and Froome said the points they accrued should better reflect that achievement. 

“We won two stages at the Tour de France, but if you look at the points we earned, it’s about the same as two guys finishing in the top-10 in the French Cup,” he said. “That doesn’t add up. The points should be a better way to represent professional cycling.”

Meanwhile the British rider admitted that the 2023 season could well be make or break in his career. 

Froome suffered a devastating crash at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphine and has been making gradual progress to return to the shape and form that saw him land four Tour titles. He also recently admitted that the dream of a fifth yellow jersey is still alive. 

At the Tour in July, Froome put in an impressive performance which saw him finish third on Alpe d’Huez behind stage winner Tom Pidcock. However, after later contracting Covid-19 which forced him out of the French grand tour, he admitted that plans for the rest of the season were unfortunately derailed. 

“I am a person who likes challenges and the process,” he told MARCA. “I am on that road and I am working toward it. I suffered a terrible crash that almost forced me out of cycling and I have managed to come back. Now things are different. This year I was motivated by some of my performances, but for different reasons, I didn’t have the opportunity to truly show where I am at.”

“This season is going to be the year of truth,” Froome said. “To really know where I am.”

Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome has said his dream of winning a fifth yellow jersey is still alive, following his 2019 horror crash.  

“The dream is always there,” the 37-year-old told Cyclingnews at the Singapore Criterium. “But I know there are other steps I need to take before that’s even a real concern for me.

“Before focusing on a goal like riding GC at the Tour de France, I have to at least chase some smaller goals, like week-long stage races.

“More than that, though, it’s about having an uninterrupted period of training and racing where I don’t have any illness or injury. If I can manage that, I very much hope I can get back there.” 

In 2019, Froome was taken into intensive care after crashing into a wall in a course recon at the Critérium du Dauphiné. He suffered fractures to his sternum, neck, femur, elbow and ribs, and also lost four pints of blood. 

The then Ineos Grenadiers rider returned to WorldTour racing eight months later, but has since struggled to regain his form.

“Since my crash, it’s almost as if I went back to being a neo-pro,” the Israel-Premier Tech rider said. "It certainly hasn’t been easy the last three years, and I’ve overcome a lot of challenges. But I’m not missing any motivation, or any will to do it.

“This season was the first season where I haven’t had any issues relating to that crash of 2019.”

This July, Froome showed he hadn’t lost his climbing prowess, finishing third atop Alpe d’Huez on the queen stage at the Tour de France.

“Building up to the Tour and through the Tour, I started to feel more like myself again, as if I was on the right trajectory,” he said. “Alpe d’Huez was a good stepping stone. It was nice to be in the race and at least fighting for the stage win.” 

The 37-year-old revealed his original plan had been to reach his peak at the Vuelta a España, but after withdrawing from the Tour in the third week with Covid-19, his ambitions fell away. 

“Being asthmatic, it affected me quite badly. It was the first time I’d had it,” he said. “The rest of the season for me was pretty much a write-off.”

Should Froome come back to claim another Tour de France victory, he’d join an exclusive club of five-time winners that includes Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin.

Chris Froome signed on before the start of stage 18 of the Tour de France, despite showing symptoms of Covid-19 and while waiting for the results of a second test to confirm that he had the virus.

A spokesperson for ASO, the organiser of the race, said race management recommended that the four-time winner sign on before the results of the PCR test were confirmed.

The Israel-Premier Tech rider developed symptoms on the morning of the final Pyrenean stage on Thursday, and took a test before the stage’s start. He took a second test before the team presentation.

While the results of the PCR test were being processed, rather than isolate, Froome rode to the sign-on at 12.30pm. Wearing a mask, the four-time winner filmed the crowd at the start in Lourdes as he made his way past media personnel in the mixed zone.

He took his mask off as he waved to the crowd at the team presentation, before then declining media interviews and returning to his team’s bus where he was told of his positive PCR test for Covid soon after.

The timeline of events was confirmed to Cycling Weekly by an Israel-Premier Tech spokesperson, with ASO also confirming to this publication that they directed Froome to sign on.

An ASO spokesperson said: "Israel-Premier Tech were waiting for a second Covid-19 test for Chris Froome before the start. It was the moment to go for the signature.

"The race direction said to the team that it was better to go with Chris Froome to the signature because if they went without him everyone will ask questions.

"And if the test was negative, then it was more complicated to manage without him on the podium, so they preferred to send Chris Froome to the podium waiting for the confirmation of the test."

Israel-Premier Tech announced that Froome had tested positive at 1.25pm, with a video from Froome following soon after. He was 26th on GC before having to leave the race.

Standard practice at the Tour has been for those who develop symptoms to take an antigenic test, and then a PCR test if a rapid test shows as positive. After 19 stages, 16 riders have left the race due to Covid-19, with positives announced via each team’s media channels before the team signed on for the day.

Riders are required to sign on each day with non-attendance punishable by a fine. Ahead of stage 12, each rider from the Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team-Emirates teams were handed a fine of 500 CHF and docked 15 UCI points for failing to sign on.

Froome was the second rider from his team to catch Covid during the race, with stage five victor Simon Clarke departing before the beginning of stage 15.

Only Bob Jungels (AG2R Citröen) and Rafał Majka (UAE-Team Emirates) have been allowed to continue in the race after a positive test, due to the pair having a high enough cycle threshold (CT) score, effectively meaning that they were not contagious. 

UCI rules state that for the management of a suspected Covid case, “all persons involved in the event are requested to signal any suspicion of Covid-19 immediately to the event medical services [… who] will contact the Covid doctor to manage the follow-up with the suspect patient.”

Chris Froome (Israel-Premier Tech), the four-time winner of the Tour de France has been forced to abandon the 2022 edition before stage 18 after testing positive for Coronavirus.

Despite the fact that Froome was seen at the sign-on for the stage to Hautacam, he then announced via social media that he had tested positive and would be unable to continue. 

Posting on his official Twitter channel, Froome said in a video: 

“Hey everybody, unfortunately I’ve got some pretty disappointing news to share with you this morning. A test has revealed that I’ve contracted Covid so I’m not going to be taking the start today.

“I’m really disappointed not to be able to roll into Paris and finish off this Tour de France. It’s been an extremely special race for us as a team and then for me personally as well.

“I’ve really been finding my legs again and I just want to thank everyone for all the support through this process and I’m going to head home now and switch off for a few days. I’ll then refocus on being ready for the Vuelta a Espana later this season.” 

Froome’s team, Israel-Premier Tech then posted a short message on social media announcing his withdrawal. 

It read: “Unfortunately, Chris Froome won’t take the start of stage 18 as a test taken shortly before the start has revealed that Chris has contracted Covid. The remaining IPT riders all tested negative and are ready to race.” 

Last week, Froome produced a remarkable performance to finish third to Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) on the stage to Alpe d’Huez. 

Multiple other riders have been forced to abandon the Tour de France due to Coronavirus including key domestique for Tadej Pogačar, George Bennett (UAE Team Emirates). 

Several other teams have announced positive tests in recent days for their riders including Lotto Soudal who lost Tim Wellens to the virus yesterday. 

Two riders for AG2R Citreon were pulled from racing when their results were sent for further Covid testing after Monday’s rest day. 

Three years on from the horror crash that threatened to derail his entire career, and almost cost him his life, Chris Froome climbed to third on stage 12 of the Tour de France, his best result since the 2018 version.

He might not have had the legs to match Tom Pidcock and Louis Meintjes on Alpe d'Huez, but the Israel-Premier Tech rider showed glimpses of his old self, the one that won four Tours de France in just five editions.

Froome was clearly exhausted at the finish, with a cough interrupting interviews at the stage finish in the scrum for his attention. He might not have had the legs in recent years, but he has remained popular with fans.

"I have no regrets today," the 37-year-old said. "Naturally I would have loved to have put my hands up and I tried to win the stage. I gave it everything today. I don’t have any regrets. Where I’ve come from over the last three years, battling back from my accident to finish third on one of the hardest stages in the Tour, I can be really happy with that. 

"I’m going to keep pushing. I don’t know what my limits are, I’ll keep trying to improve and hopefully get back to them again."

Froome crashed while on a recon ride of a time-trial at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June 2019. Since then, he has moved from Ineos to Israel-Premier Tech, but his old form has so far proved elusive.

His highest finish in the interim was 11th at the Mercan Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes back in May. He also 22nd on a flat stage of the UAE Tour in 2021, and he finished 23rd overall at the Tour de Slovaquie last year too.

The last time Froome finished on the podium of a stage at the Tour was in 2018, when he finished second on the stage 20 time trial on his way to third overall. The same year he finished fourth on that year's Alpe d'Huez stage, which was won by his then teammate Geraint Thomas.

"I’ve been feeling better and better and have been wanting to target a stage like today," he explained. "I tried my luck in the breakaway and I gave it everything that I had. I have regrets, I had no more to give on that final climb. Tom [Pidcock] and Louis [Meintjes] had more in their engines than me. Congrats to them for the stage today. Thanks to my team and my teammates for allowing me the chance to get up the road today."

Pidcock, the man 15 years his junior, put his breakaway companions under pressure on the descent from the Croix de Fer before attacking decisively on the Alpe.

"It was all still unknown," Froome said. "To me personally, Tom seemed like the strongest in the group. The way he bridged the gap to me on the first climb. He was flying on the descents today. His mountain biking came in handy today. There were a few points where I backed off because he was pushing the limits."

He may not have won, but Froome will want this result to be the start of something new, not a valedictory statement. His best result for four years is certainly the genus of something.

Many climbs have earned their place in cycling folklore across the years. Some have gained their notoriety due to the misfortune of those attempting to conquer them, others due to the scenes of triumph and glory painted by some of the sport's most iconic figures. When you think of Ventoux you think of the late Tom Simpson, the Marmolada in the Giro d’Italia is a climb closely associated with Marco Pantani. Most monoliths of the Dolomites, Alps or Pyrenees are intertwined with an iconic story from a bike race. 

La Super Planche des Belles Filles is just one of those climbs. Buried deep in the Vosges Mountains within eastern France, the mountain has played host to some of the most dramatic moments in recent memory at the Tour de France. In 2012 Chris Froome displayed the signs of what was to come in his career as he famously left the winner that year, Bradley Wiggins, behind in pursuit of a memorable stage win. 

Eight years later, the climb would become synonymous with the suffering inflicted on Primož Roglič by an almighty Tadej Pogačar. That infamous day at the 2020 Tour de France was one of those sporting moments that reminds you just why you fell in love with the race. Dramatic, edge of the seat viewing that will be remembered for years to come. Each turn of Pogačar's pedals that fateful afternoon twisted the knife in Roglič's torment. A day full of glorious memories for the defending champion and one that turned the Tour de France on its head.

The climb itself is a beast of a mountain. By the time the riders reach the summit, they will have climbed more than 1,035 metres from Plancher Les Mines, averaging at a leg-sapping 8.5% gradient. Although the torture inflicted on sore and aching muscles will not end there. On Friday the finish line will be at the end of a short gravel section previously used in the Tour which rockets up to 24%. A gradient that would generate a shudder in even the most fearless of climbers. 

After winning a dramatic stage in 2019 that finished on the mountain gravel, Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious) is a man who knows how difficult the climb is. Teuns told Cycling Weekly that the addition of the gravel section makes it that more challenging.

The Belgian rider said: “It was my first win in the Tour and will always be a special one. It’s a hard climb and then they added the gravel section in. It was the first time they had done that when I won and it made it super special. The gravel section for sure makes it even more difficult, the steepest part is just there at the end.”

Riders who can tackle the short, sharp hills are unlikely to make it to the summit with the favourites, which means we’re likely to potentially see a new polka-dot jersey wearer at the end of the day. Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF-Education EasyPost) took the Polka-Dot jersey over the course of the opening weekend and has held it valiantly all week. Although by the time Saturday morning dawns, it may well have been removed from his shoulders as the Danes time is up. 

‘Plank of the Beautiful Women’ as it’s otherwise known, requires a different breed of bike rider. It requires those riders that possess an ability to go so far into the red that nobody else can follow. That’s meant as no disrespect to Cort Nielsen. He will well know that it’s not a climb for him. It’s where those hoping to not allow Pogačar to canter away to overall glory will need to come into their own. 

Ineos Grenadiers's pair, Adam Yates and Geraint Thomas, are two of those riders. As is Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma). However the main character who has a score to settle here is Primož Roglič. 

In a heavy crash on Wednesdays cobbled stage, Roglic dislocated his shoulder before then putting it back into place himself. Most mere mortals would have packed it up there and then, however Roglič has been there before. He is a purebred warrior who knows exactly how to suffer and still come out fighting. Moments before Tadej Pogačar stormed to victory on stage six, Roglič put in a trademark attack looking to fight back with a stage win and to show he’s not out yet. 

In 2022, ‘La Planche’ will have a key role to play in two races. On July 31 it plays host to the final stage of the inaugural Tour de France Femmes, and could well be the theatre for a huge final battle between the race leaders. 

Featuring at the end of the first week this year in the Tour de France, it may be too early for ‘La Planche’ to play a decisive role like it did so stunningly two years ago. However, once the gravel of the final few meters arrives Primož Roglič will be more than ready to put his demons to bed and show he’s up for the fight all the way to Paris. 

Israel-Premier Tech have unveiled a special edition Tour de France kit alongside a new fundraising campaign to support the youth of Rwanda. 

The kit is designed to promote the charitable campaign. The squad said the design, by Stijn Dossche, was intended to celebrate “the colours of the rich soil and lush greenery that brightens the landscape of the ‘land of a thousand hills’, and features the Rwandan art form, Imigongo, as the hero of the jersey design”.

As part of the campaign the team are calling on cycling fans  to donate to help build a cycling centre, the “Field of Dreams”, in Rwanda. 

Plans for the centre include a pump track, race track and future cycling academy across 16 acres of land in Bugesera, Rwanda. The aim of the completed complex will be to develop and encourage young cycling talent between the ages of six and 18 by providing opportunities to access the sport. 

Four-time Tour de France champion and Israel-Premier Tech rider Chris Froome showed said: “For me, growing up in Kenya, the bike was always about freedom. It was my way of getting around, my transport. The bike was my opportunity to experience the world around me.”  

He added: “We didn’t have pump tracks, velodromes, or anything like that. Growing up and experiencing cycling in that way, with no real infrastructure or support for youngsters growing up, has really made me want to get behind a project like this." 

As well as building the centre, Israel-Premier Tech also plans on establishing a cycling academy to train bike mechanics, coaches and guides- empowering the next generation to excel and develop new skills. 

 AN ENGINE OF CHANGE 

The team said that  the centre marks the second step in the "Racing for change" project that Israel-Premier Tech launched last year. This involved “adopting” the only women’s cycling team in Rwanda and starting up a social riding program for young people in the area. 

Israel-Premier Tech owner Sylvan Adams said: “What better way to unveil this ambitious campaign than at the most important event on our cycling calendar, the Tour de France where we can unite all cycling fans to get behind the wonderful Rwandan youth who deserve it so much.” 

The local mayor in Bugesera, Richard Mutabazi, is said he expects the scheme “will drive economic and social progress”. The district consists of 566 villages home to half a million residents. Many of the villages are connected by roads that would benefit from an increase in the local cycling infrastructure. 

“This unprecedented initiative promises to have a huge effect on the new generation of Bugesera and possibly all of Rwanda, well beyond cycling,” said Mutabazi. 

A CALL TO ACTION TO THE GLOBAL CYCLING COMMUNITY 

Riders and staff on the Israel-Premier Tech have already made donations.

The team said they would match every donation to the ‘Field of Dreams’ project, by the public. 

There are also prizes up for grabs for those donating  including a limited-edition Tour de France jersey and a custom painted Factor bike. 

The cost of the first phase of building the "Field of Dreams" centre will be €300,000. Donations beyond this amount will help provide more bikes for the local community, enable maintenance and the development of a future cycling academy. 

Chris Froome has said people should not forget about the severity of the injuries he suffered at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June 2019, and said now is the first time he is riding pain-free since that incident. 

Froome crashed while on a recon ride of a time-trial at that race, suffering a fractured right femur, a fractured elbow and fractured ribs. Since then, he has largely struggled for form.

Speaking before the start of the second stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné on Monday, Froome indicated he is riding without these injuries holding him back anymore, though he is still managing expectations. 

At 37-years-old, and having suffered such severe injuries as he did, the Israel-Premier Tech rider suggested it isn't as simple as just riding again and rediscovering the form that helped him win seven Grand Tours. 

"It’s understandable that people have got these expectations given what I’ve achieved in my career, but, at the same time, I think people need to remember where I’m coming from, these last three years, is a completely different place," Froome explained.

"At this this race three years ago I almost lost my life. I couldn’t straighten my leg or put weight on my leg for the best part of four or five months. That was a huge rehabilitation. I broke my leg in two places. To come back from something like that isn’t guaranteed. It’s a step-by-step process.

"The first step is learning to walk again, then it was getting onto a bike and riding a bike again. Then it’s maybe trying to get back to being in a racing peloton. Now it’s trying to take that next step to become more competitive at this level and that’s where I’m at currently."

Replicating his 2013, 2015 and 2016 wins at the Dauphiné is unlikely this year, but there are promising signs of progress for Froome. 

He achieved his best result since the 2019 accident last Tuesday, finishing 11th at the Mercan Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes. Perhaps signalling somewhat of a turning point in the twilight of his career, the Briton is scheduled to ride next week at the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge ahead of a possible Tour de France appearance in July. 

Froome confirms 2022 has provided signs of positivity, too. Highlighting this season as the first he is riding since the crash without any pain, his focus is now on making incremental improvements week by week. 

"This is the first time, really, in the last three years that I’ve been fully niggle-free, issue free," Froome said. "I haven’t had any pain, I haven’t had any discomfort, the left-right leg balance is in place.

"Basically, it’s just been an uninterrupted period since January until now of being able to work consistently and move things in the right direction. I’m seeing the results of that."

Almost three years on from the horror crash that threatened to derail his entire career, Chris Froome finished 11th at the Mercan Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes on Tuesday, his best result since the accident.

The four-time Tour de France winner crashed while on a recon ride of a time-trial at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June 2019. Since then, he has moved from Ineos to Israel-Premier Tech, but his old form has so far proved elusive.

His highest finish in the interim was 22nd on a flat stage of the UAE Tour in 2021, and he finished 23rd overall at the Tour de Slovaquie last year too.

At the one-day race in south-east France on Tuesday, Froome achieved his best result since June 2019, 1,089 days ago, an impressive achievement on such a hilly course. 

It was a dream day for Israel-Premier Tech, as they also won the race through Jakob Fuglsang, his first win since 2020, and Michael Woods clinched second place. Froome came in 3-58 down on his teammate, but it's still a good result in a race that featured 4,739 metres of climbing. 

The Briton finished ahead of riders like Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën) and Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic).

Speaking just after crossing the line, Froome said: "I'm trying to get back to my old self again. I'm not there, but I'm definitely one step closer."

At the Tour of the Alps earlier this year, the 36-year-old told Cycling Weekly that he had "overcome a lot of hurdles" and that there was "nothing really holding me back now". 

"I'm generally pretty happy with how things are going at the moment," Froome said. "I can take a lot of positives out of this I think. Positives from the start of this year, I can really see a lot of response from my body to the training loads, to everything. I feel as if my body is responding differently to how it was last year. I've overcome a lot of hurdles. 

"Basically I've got the all clear now, I've got nothing really holding me back now. I can get fully engrossed in the training side of things now, I mean that's a side that I'm familiar with, I've been doing that for years. That's the side that I'm actually looking forward to now these next few months and see where I can get to."

On Tuesday the seven-time Grand Tour winner said: "I've seen a big progression these last couple of months, I've just come off a training camp now, the legs are feeling good. The next step will be the Critérium du Dauphiné. I'm just taking it one week at a time, focusing on building the feeling of momentum."

Israel-Premier Tech had a disappointing Giro d'Italia, only achieving one top-three finish on a stage. On top of a fallow start to the year - Tuesday's win was just the team's fifth this year - it has been a difficult time.

However, Fuglsang and Woods' results netted the squad over 200 UCI points, which could be crucial in the relegation battle.

"It's a super day for the team," Froome said. "Jakob won, with Woodsy in second place. We couldn't have asked for much more today. We had a plan coming into the race to make it hard, particularly on the three last climbs, and the guys did an amazing job with that. 

"It's really nice to see the team bouncing back, we had a difficult start to the season with a lot of sickness, but the guys are in good health now, and finally starting to put some results on the scoreboard."

Froome will hope to keep impressing at the Dauphiné, which starts this weekend.

It has been a long way back for Chris Froome. The four-time Tour de France winner has been on a journey back to his normal level ever since the horror crash at the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2019.

The Israel-Premier Tech rider is still aiming to ride the Tour this summer though, describing being competitive there again as the "dream scenario".

Froome has not achieved a top ten finish in any race since the Tour of the Alps in 2019, which he is back at this year. In that time, we have seen Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič emerge at the top of the sport, and travelled through almost an entire pandemic.

After his move from Ineos to his new team at the end of 2020, he rode a full calendar last year, but failed to live up to his own exacting standards, riding mostly anonymously.

His 2022 had an aborted start to this season after suffering a knee injury, meaning his first race was Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali at the end of March. 

However, speaking to Cycling Weekly, Cyclingnews and Wielerflits at the Tour of the Alps, the 36-year-old said he had "overcome a lot of hurdles" and that there was "nothing really holding me back now".

"I'm generally pretty happy with how things are going at the moment," Froome said. "I can take a lot of positives out of this I think. Positives from the start of this year, I can really see a lot of response from my body to the training loads, to everything. I feel as if my body is responding differently to how it was last year. I've overcome a lot of hurdles.

"Basically I've got the all clear now, I've got nothing really holding me back now. I can get fully engrossed in the training side of things now, I mean that's a side that I'm familiar with, I've been doing that for years. That's the side that I'm actually looking forward to now these next few months and see where I can get to."

Froome joined Israel-Premier Tech after 11 years at Team Sky/Ineos, during which he won two Vueltas a España, a Giro d'Italia, and four Tours, alongside multiple other titles.

When he signed for the team, his contract was described as "long-term" and it was said that he would ride for the squad "until the end of his career."

At the Tour of the Alps, Froome has attracted attention, as a seven-time Grand Tour rider would, but has also impressed himself; his 41st place on stage two was probably the most impressive ride on a hard stage he has done since his injury, certainly since joining Israel-Premier Tech.

"To be there when there are 25/30 guys left in the bunch on the climbs, that's not a feeling I've had for a long time," he said. "It shows that the training I'm doing is actually paying off. Obviously I had a bit of a late start to the year.

"I had a bit of a setback in January, so I am still a bit behind in terms of form and race prep and everything else. I'm pretty light on racing this year, I only had Coppi e Bartali until now, other guys have done Paris-Nice, Catalunya, Tirreno."

The Briton said that now he no longer really had any "residual pain or any residual issues from the crash", which will be a relief for him and his team.

"The power balance, left/right, that's all good now," Froome explained. "Now it's purely about doing the work, getting the hard yards in, getting the power up, getting the weight down, the same story as always in terms of getting back to form.

"That's a big relief. This first period from Coppi e Bartali until now I've seen a really good progression in terms of the response from my body. I'm pretty happy now."

Speaking after Coppi e Bartali, Froome said on his YouTube channel that he was looking to lose some weight ahead of the Tour of the Alps next week, so this is clearly something that is still occupying him.

His YouTube channel, launched at the beginning of this year, has been a way for him to connect to the public in a direct way, and he has been reasonably unfiltered.

"I interact more on social media now and even do videos on YouTube," Froome said. "I've been racing and winning the big races for many years but people said they didn’t know me because I shielded myself. 

"I've made more of an effort to be more open and show who I am as a person. I've enjoyed that process too. I’m mature enough to recognise what to listen to and what not to listen, on social media and in the media. I’m happy doing my own thing and sharing the journey I'm on now."

While Froome seems less guarded than his days at the very top of the sport, he and his team are still very careful about how much he speaks about the future, because he is still on the journey back.

However, he confirmed that his programme would include the Tour de Romandie next week, and then either the Tour de Suisse or the Dauphiné in June. This hints at a progression towards the Tour, something he was less specific about.

"I think it all depends on how everything goes on this next month and a half," he said. "I think that would be a final test to see if I'm ready to go back into a race like the Tour de France.

"Obviously, that would be the dream scenario for me. To get back into the Tour and be competitive again. But, there are lots of steps that need to come before that."

His slow start to the year has given him the confidence that he might be able to continue his form late into the season, later than if he was already at his peak already.

"I'm definitely taking a bigger picture approach to the season," he explained. "I'm looking to have a very active summer. Keep racing late into this year. It has been a slow start but I like the way things are heading now.

"I certainly saw in previous years when I haven't had any setbacks or issues, getting up to peak form later I've been able to hold it longer into the season. I think previously, thinking back to earlier years in my career, when I've been flying in February/March I have struggled to hold onto it past the Tour de France.

"Whereas, taking a slower approach now hopefully I'll be able to hold onto that level until the end of the season."

It is clearly very important for Froome and his team to manage expectations, and not get too carried away with predicted the level that he will be able to be at. The weight of being one of the riders of the last decade clearly creates pressure, however much he tries to manage it.

"You can never keep everyone happy," Froome laughed. "If people have expectations, they'll always judge you on your last performance, not what you achieved during your career."

However, his setbacks have given him a new perspective on those years of success, 2011-2018.

"Looking back at the years where I was winning Grand Tour after Grand Tour, especially when you are in that moment, in that frame of mind, it's difficult to fully appreciate how fortunate you are," he said.

"Now being away from it after the crash, I've had time to reflect on that. I realise I was really fortunate and privileged to have those opportunities.

"In that moment there's a lot of buzz about it but you don't fully appreciate it. Now looking from the other side, I know how difficult it is to get everything 100%, to be in the mindset and physical position to fight for the victory. To be at 100%, to have everything in place, is not normal. It really is a privilege."

It's a second chance for Froome post his crash, even if he has not quite made it back to the top yet.

He told Procycling magazine last year: "I genuinely feel as if I’ve been given a second chance now, I’ve been given a second chance to come back to the highest level of professional cycling. I’m just so grateful for it. 

"I mean a lot of people see the whole crash as a negative…yes, it is a negative, it took me back a long way. But at the same time it’s tested me, tested my motivation, my love for the sport."

He aims to still get back to the elite level, to be a top rider, he insists, despite the fact he will turn 37 next month.

"The goal is to try to get back to that kind of level," he said "But there are so many small things that you take for granted, that just help you to be in that position.

"After all your Grand Tour victories, you’re already thinking about the next goal. You are never in the moment celebrating and enjoying it, maybe for a few hours but then you’re straight onto the next goal. It's strange but you only fully appreciate it years afterwards."

Whatever the end, it is clear that Froome does not want to give up, and is still fighting hard for his future in cycling. As he said, he knows where he is at now, and if he can train like he used to, perhaps there is no reason to believe he can be as good as he used to. 

Chris Froome explained on his YouTube channel that he is looking to lose some weight ahead of the Tour of the Alps next week, having suffered with the surprising standard of racing at Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali last month. 

The Israel-Premier Tech rider started his 2022 season at the Italian race in March by finishing 86th overall, with his best placing coming on stage five as he crossed the line 63rd. Froome had hoped to ease himself into the season, but quickly realised he would need to work hard to keep pace. 

After the first stage, Froome explained to the camera what it felt like returning to competition following a five-month break. 

"That was a pretty rude welcome back, to put it bluntly," Froome said. "It was like an Ardennes day, basically. Pretty brutal way to start racing after five months out. But it was good, I was happy to be here.

"That was a solid day out. I can definitely feel the legs. It definitely hurt, blew out the cobwebs and hopefully more of that the next few days to come. I think this is great preparation for what's to come and the next races that are going to be on the programme."

Following the conclusion of the race, Froome further discussed how he was feeling and the pleasant surprise he had riding in such a frenetic atmosphere after an extended period off the bike. 

"Legs are feeling pretty tender, pretty sore," Froome said. "My body has definitely taken a beating this last week at Coppi e Bartali. 

"That was a tough race. Not quite what I expected. As my first race back I thought it was going to be slightly lower level racing, not exactly a WorldTour kind of event, but, to be honest, it was full gas. I don't think there are any races these days you can go to and just get around under the radar. 

"A baptism of fire there, but I quite enjoyed racing again, just being back in the bunch."

Froome then went onto confirm his involvement in the Tour of the Alps next week, revealing he has focussed on explosive, high intensity work since Coppi e Bartali.  

When speaking after the race, the Israel-Premier Tech rider also admitted he was carrying two kilograms more than his lightest Tour de France weight. Froome is looking to shed some of that weight, suggesting it's the equivalent of carrying four full drinks bottles around constantly on the bike. 

"Everyone keeps talking about power to weight, power to weight. But, that's what it boils down to. You're literally riding with extra bottles on your back if you're anything over 500 grams heavier than where you need to be."

Chris Froome will race the Tour of the Alps on April 18-22, organisers have confirmed. 

Set to be his fourth appearance at the Tour of the Alps, Froome's best result at the five-day stage race came in 2018, when he finished fourth in GC. The Israel-Premier Tech rider ended up a disappointing 93rd last year, something he will no doubt attempt to rectify with a stronger showing this time out. 

Froome made his 2022 season debut at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali in March, though he struggled to make any imprint on the race. After suffering a torn TFL (tensor fasica latae) tendon on the side of his leg in December, the Briton decided to delay his start to the season in order to regain full fitness. However, he could only manage a race-best finish of 63rd on the final stage. 

Miguel Ángel López (Astana Qazaqstan), Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious), Tao Geoghean Hart and Richie Port (Ineos Grenadiers) and Romain Bardet (Team DSM) have all been confirmed to race in the Tour of the Alps too, providing a strong start list for the UCI ProSeries race.

Maurizio Evangelista, Tour of the Alps General Manager, said: "The ten World Tour teams and a significant number of top athletes are once again a guarantee of a top-level show, along with the race format that provides thrills from the very first kilometre. 

"Over the years this race has helped to reveal many new talents: we expect a lot not only from the established protagonists, but also from those we have yet to discover."

Having failed to win a race since the 2018 Giro d'Italia, Froome could be targeting an improved performance in a few weeks time at the race in the Tyrol-South, Tyrol-Trentino Euroregion. Following the Tour of the Alps, the 36-year-old is expected to line-up at the Tour de Romandie, his tenth involvement in the race and a favourite of Froome's following his two wins in 2013 and 2014.

From there, he will compete at Critérium du Dauphiné too, before he tries to realise his Grand Tour dreams with his fifth Tour de France victory.

Chris Froome is ready to make a racing return in Italy next week after a knee injury delayed his season start, his Israel-Premier Tech team confirmed on Saturday.

The four-time Tour de France winner will make his 2022 debut at the five-stage Coppi e Bartali race on Tuesday March 22, having worked his way back up fitness at team training camps in the early part of the year.

Froome last raced at the Italian Classics in the autumn last year, although failed to finish all three in which he competed including the year's final Monument, Il Lombardia.

In January he confirmed he had suffered a setback due to a tendon injury on his right knee, which he described as a "setback".

Froome explained: “It wasn’t an ideal start to the year, to be dealing with an injury, but I’ve worked hard to get my fitness back on track. Fortunately, it was only a minor setback. I’m looking forward to taking on the 2022 season with my first race being Coppi e Bartali. It’s always a great experience to race in Italy and I can’t wait to get out there with my team-mates.”

The 36-year-old has struggled to show signs of his previous prowess following a horrific crash at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné, which left him with numerous severe injuries.

The most decorated Grand Tour rider of the last 10 years, Froome won four Tours de France, two Vuelta a España titles, and a Giro d'Italia in a dominant spell between 2011 and 2018.

He rode his final Grand Tour for Team Ineos (previously Sky) at the Vuelta in 2020 before moving to Israel Start-Up Nation for 2021, with whom he made a return to the Tour, which he completed.

Froome's team said his further 2022 race programme would be decided in the following weeks after his return at Coppi e Bartali.

Chris Froome has claimed the amount of data available in modern cycling now compared to when he first started as a professional in 2007 has made the sport more dangerous, though he also recognises that the standard of racing has also significantly improved as a result. 

The four-time Tour de France winner previously suggested time trials should be raced on road bikes to improve safety, and he has continued this discourse by stating the technology teams now use during races makes the sport more dangerous than it used to be. 

Using the example of team directors telling riders in real time about the conditions of the roads they're approaching, Froome suggests there is a huge fight for position, which isn't necessarily safe.

In a sponsor video for Quad Lock, Froome said: "It’s mental because it's the only sport in the world where someone says to you, ‘right guys, you’re going through this really narrow dangerous little village coming up, the road’s really tiny and there’s a small bridge with a corner straight after’, and it's the only sport that we actually go faster when you're told there's danger up ahead, because you want to be the ones to get there first. 

"If you’re at the back, you’re going to be stuck in this backlog trying to get through the pinch point. It’s probably the only sport where someone tells you there’s danger up ahead and the pace lifts, fighting for positions. It’s mental.

“I think racing has, as a result of that, become more dangerous. Through having more data it’s basically made the race more dangerous. Previously we wouldn’t have known necessarily that each pinch point was there and there wouldn’t have been this massive scurry for position. We’d have just got there and all been more relaxed and got through it with no issues. But that’s changed quite a bit.”

While the Israel-Premier Tech rider is concerned rider safety is being sacrificed somewhat, he also understands that the performance levels of the peloton have significantly improved. 

Froome suggests power meters have signified this shift in technological development, helping riders to race and train in a more controlled and data-driven way. 

"Across the board we’ve seen a huge raise of the bar in terms of the general level of performance in professional cycling. The amount of data available through power meters and the collection and correlation of all that data means that performances now are lot more guided."

Chris Froome has questioned the safety of time trial bikes in light of Egan Bernal's recent training crash, their use necessary in training for riders to be able to perform at their best against the clock in races.

The four-time Tour de France champion says the difference in conditions between racing on safe closed roads on a TT machine can never be replicated in training, which then throws up a multitude of hazards.

"Being out on my TT bike this morning, and in light of recent events, TT bikes are not really meant to be ridden on the roads the way we need to ride them to be ready for time trials," Froome said in his latest YouTube video. 

"If there's an hour-long TT in the Tour de France, you have to get out there on your TT bike and you have to simulate that. Now how many roads do you know where you can literally ride for an hour in closed-road conditions, with no traffic, no stop signs, no traffic lights? Those kinds of conditions just don't exist in the real world.

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"When you're on the skis, you've got no brakes there, so you have to sit up, and it's not really that safe. It's one thing when racing on closed roads and even then you can have horrendous accidents, but it's completely another thing when you're out on open roads, with traffic and people crossing the roads."

Froome, whose prowess in time trials matched his climbing skills and brought him multiple Grand Tour victories throughout his career, thinks the answer is a simple one: do away with time trial bikes. Instead, Froome says road bikes should just be used, which would have the added benefit of helping to level the playing field in the peloton.

"I love time trialling - it's an art, it's a skill, it's really nuanced, something you really need to know a lot about as a pro cyclist. One of the magical things about Grand Tour racing is the balance of pure climbers versus the guys who can time trial as well," Froome explained.

"Would it not be more uniform to have time trials done on road bikes? Without doubt, I think it would make it more of level playing field and more about the skill of individual riders, and not necessarily so much about the R&D, the aerodynamics, time in the wind tunnel, and the funding that goes into a project like being ready for a TT."

The 36-year-old's final thoughts were on the UCI, saying their safety protocols introduced last season are far less effective than the measures he's suggesting.

"Personally, I find it quite ironic that the UCI have introduced things to make the sport safer, like limiting the positions we can use on the bike," he said. "But in my opinion something like this, which would be pretty easy to implement, would have a far greater impact on the safety of professional cyclists."

Chris Froome's 2022 season is likely to be delayed because of a knee injury he picked up in training in December, he revealed on Thursday.

Speaking at Israel-Premier Tech's launch, the four-time Tour de France winner expanded on the knee injury he announced he'd picked up last week.

"In mid-December I picked up a bit of an injury getting back into training," he said. I tore my tfl (tensor fascia latae) tendon on the side of my leg. I had to take a bit of time off...

"My preparations have definitely been delayed. I'll be racing a little bit later as well. [I am] happy to be here, happy to get the work in, I don't feel any pain at the moment, but I still have to take it pretty steady and have a slower progression into the first part of the season."

However, the Briton said that he was "really" happy to make it to Israel-Premier Tech's January training camp.

"It's really good to be at the training camp now, this is a training camp I didn't make it to last year. I'm really happy to be here and to be starting training with the guys."

This will be Froome's second year with the team, who have changed names from Israel Start-Up Nation to Israel-Premier Tech ahead of this season.

Last year he struggled to reach his former heights - he has won all three grand tours - riding the Tour but without much success.

However, he thinks this year will be a good year for the team he joined from Ineos Grenadiers at the end of 2020.

"Last year the team took a noticeable step up," Froome explained.  "Especially with Premier Tech coming on board, there's momentum, there's positive energy, I feel like there's a good buzz in the team, everyone has come to the training camp keen to work hard, with some ambitious goals for this year. 

"I'm really looking forward to being a part of that and being part of this journey and see the team keep stepping up."

He was asked how he saw the state of the current WorldTour landscape, considering he spent his most successful years with a seemingly unbeatable Team Sky - now Ineos Grenadiers - especially at the Tour.

Froome said that there were now a few teams at the top of the sport, something he hoped Israel-Premier Tech could aim towards in the coming years.

"It's fair to say that a decade ago Team Sky were setting the benchmark," he said.

"I think in previous years other teams have caught up and it seems at the moment that there are two or three bigger teams who are on a very similar kind of level, especially when it comes to riding the grand tours and controlling the grand tours in terms of the general classification. It does seem to be a much more even playing field. 

"In terms of Israel-Premier Tech I wouldn't necessarily say we were one of those teams setting the benchmark for general classification in grand tours, but that's something we can hopefully keep building on in these next few years and a goal for us to try and reach that level. I think we have a great platform to really strengthen the team over the next few years, which is what I'd really like to see."

Chris Froome has revealed he is suffering from knee pain, which he believes is a result of overtraining during his pre-season preparation.  

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Froome explained he has an inflamed tensor fascia latae, a small muscle that attaches to the iliotibial band (IT band), which is causing him significant pain while cycling. 

Froome said: "For the last 10 days or so, I've been getting quite a lot of pain on the outside of my knee while I'm pedalling. Unfortunately, I think getting back into training these past couple of weeks I might have been a little bit too keen, pushing a little too much.

"This was after a few weeks off the bike and maybe the body wasn't ready to push that hard. It's flared up and caused a bit of inflammation."

Now in the process of taking a week off, the 36-year-old describes the minor injury as a "setback", admitting he isn't sure when he will be able to start racing in 2022. 

"I’m going to have to take the best part of a week off the bike before starting very gradually. 

"It’s definitely a setback for me. I’m not too sure where I’m going to start the racing year and it’s going to push everything back slightly.”

The four-time Tour de France winner's pain is occurring on his right knee, the same leg he fractured his femur - along with a broken neck, elbow, hip and ribs - in a 2019 crash before the time trial of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Since that 2019 crash, Froome has been unable to reach the same level which saw him produce wins on all three Grand Tours, and he has failed to win a race since the 2018 Giro d'Italia where he was awarded with the pink jersey.

Despite his dip in form in recent years though, the Israel Start-Up Nation rider still harbours aspirations to one day return to the top of the peloton. He is hoping to make more improvements heading into the new season, but clearly, this injury has halted his progress. 

Israel Start-Up Nation expect Chris Froome to return to some of the form of old next season, as the team plots a way to become the best of the rest.

The WorldTour team are preparing for their third year at cycling’s top-tier, picking up 19 wins outside of National Championships in that period. They were the 10th-best-ranked team during the 2021 season.

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But the presence of seven-time Grand Tour champion Chris Froome, signed from Ineos Grenadiers on a five-year deal last winter, brought increased scrutiny to the outfit, observers eager to know if the Briton can fully recover from his horrendous 2019 crash injuries.

Speaking about the team’s ambitions, lead sports director Rik Verbrugghe told Cycling Weekly: “It’s our goal to win every type of bike race, but we are missing a real GC rider. It’s true that we have Chris Froome on our roster, but he’s not the Chris Froome from Team Sky. 

“He is a building process, but it’s also true that the team wants to be present in all races: one-day Classics, one-week stage races, and in the Grand Tours we don’t have a leader to win or to podium, but we will look for stage wins.”

Two stage wins for the now-retired Dan Martin and one for Alex Dowsett represent the team’s only successes at Grand Tours thus far, and Verbrugghe admits that it is a hard sell encouraging proven general classification riders to join the team.

“We want to develop within, and we want to merge the Continental development team with the WorldTour team, but when there is an opportunity [to sign a rider], you have to try and take it,” he said.

“We were close to signing two young riders for this season who, in my eyes, are probably the future of Grand Tours and very decent stage winners. But one went to Bora-Hansgrohe, and the other went to Deceuninck-Quick-Step. 

“It’s about the trust the team can give a young rider, for them to believe in the process, that we are a young team.

“The goal for next year is to try and get in the top-five rankings. It’s really ambitious because the top-four is guaranteed: Ineos, Jumbo-Visma, Quick-Step, UAE Team Emirates, but then there are 10 teams left who can be fifth. To get this goal we need to have results.”

One rider searching for, at the very least, some top-10 results is Froome. The 36-year-old has repeated his desire to win a fifth Tour de France, but Verbrugghe admits that the team need to see more from their most high-profile rider.

“The thing is we need and want to see results from Chris next year,” he said. “It could be in a small race, but hopefully it’s in a bigger race - even better, the biggest race of them all. But even a small race would be a beginning, a step in the right direction.

“I cannot explain the whole plan and strategy we have for him for next season, but it’s like a spider web program of short-term goals, and if he reaches one goal, it opens up to something else. But if he doesn’t reach that goal, it opens up to an alternative step.

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“It’s not planned that he will go the Tour, except if he passes through all of the stages he needs to. If that happens, we have will a Chris who is competitive at the start of the Tour, but that’s not a guarantee.

“If it goes well, it’ll be a normal calendar before the Tour [ed - Paris-Nice, Tour de Romandie, Critérium du Dauphiné], but if it doesn’t go like this, we didn’t see the results we want to see, then he will go to a race program that is different, much lighter. 

“We need to analyse what is competitive for Chris. It depends on his training, comparing his numbers, and sometimes you can overestimate what he will do based on his numbers. Depending on his evolution, he can get better, more ambitious in races.

“We saw some progression after the Tour once he got rid of the virus, but we didn’t have time to see it afterwards. Hopefully this year we will.”

Chris Froome's attention is firmly placed on next year, as the 36-year-old attempts to rediscover the form that saw him win four Tours de France, two Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia.

Approaching 2022 with a renewed sense of optimism after an encouraging end to this year, Froome purposely extended his season in order to put him in a better position to challenge for honours next year.

"I raced deep into October knowing that racking up 68 race days and a final block away from home will carry me better into 2022," Froome told CyclingNews.

"I’m going to keep pushing on and keep working to make more improvement, hoping for more progression. I’m still happy to do it all over again in 2022."

The Israel Start-Up Nation rider is also confident that his team will help propel and inspire him to the top step of podiums.

"Everyone is working hard and we’re closing the gap to the biggest teams, while also helping some of the younger riders coming up via the team’s academy. That all gives me extra motivation."

The Briton has failed to win an event or race since the 2018 Giro d'Italia, after he suffered numerous broken bones - including his pelvis, femur and four ribs - in 2019 training for the Critérium du Dauphiné. Struggling to regain any form for old team Ineos Grenadiers, Froome joined Israel Start-Up Nation for the beginning of the 2021 season.

He revealed that this year didn't work out quite how he wanted, with team-mate Michael Woods named team leader ahead of him for the Tour de France, among a number of difficulties. Regardless, the seven-time Grand Tour winner is confident that the group of riders Israel Start-Up Nation has will help push them closer to compete with the top riders.

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"I’ve definitely been dealing with a lot this year, there’s been a lot on my plate," Froome said.

"Changing teams was a factor because I changed all the people around me, my equipment, the way I work, my coach and even the way I train. But as a team we’ve stepped up a level.

"Just recently we had Tom Van Asbroeck and Guillaume Boivin finish in the top-10 at Paris-Roubaix, Alessandro De Marchi wore the pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia and Dan Martin won a big mountain stage. Woodsy [Michael Woods] was also affected by the early crashes in the Tour de France but fought on and wore the polka-dot jersey."

Chris Froome has revealed which race he would most like to win before retiring out of those he hasn't already got on his impressive list.

The Israel Start-Up Nation rider revealed that he would like to win a one-day event at least once in his career before he finishes racing, and has no intention of stopping any time soon.

But the race he chose is a surprising one, as the 36-year-old says he would most like to win the Clásica San Sebastián, which usually takes place just after the Tour de France.

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Speaking in a YouTube video by Wiggle, Froome said when asked which race he would pick: "I would probably have to say a one-day Classic and one that comes to mind is probably Clásica San Sebastián. 

"It's a hilly one-day Classic that comes one week after the Tour de France. I've never really shown much in one-day racing. But before my career is over, I'd love to be able to have a one-day result to my name and that's a race I think I could potentially make it happen."

In past seasons, that particular race in the Basque Country has seen the likes of Julian Alaphilippe, Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), among others, win over the years.

Froome also spoke about how data and technology has meant riders can turn pro and compete at the highest level far sooner than they could when he started racing.

Froome said that the 'new generation' of star riders in Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) have all benefitted from it.

"Youngsters coming into the sport really have sort of a structure that didn't really exist, necessarily beforehand [when I started]," Froome said. 

"So I think that's really led to this new generation of younger riders we're seeing coming up through the ranks, they're turning professional at the age of 19, 20, 21, sometimes, and they're straight to the top. 

"I mean, we see guys like Pogačar and Bernal, already winning the Tour de France at the age of 21, 22. I mean, if you had said that to me five years ago that a 21-year-old would have been winning the Tour de France, I would have said no way. It's not possible without that depth of racing and experience."

Froome added that the new technology has also meant recovery from serious crashes is made easier, so to speak, and that certain areas that would not have been noticed before can be rectified early on in rehabilitation.

He used the example of training his left leg, where he suffered a double fracture to his femur after crashing on a recon for the time trial at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné. 

Froome said that his power meter could show the power going through both legs in real-time, which meant he could specifically train to level the strength in both again.

"There were periods of times or sessions where I go out there and actually make sure my injured leg is working harder than the noninjured leg and that was basically just to get the strength back to being on par," he said.

"And secondly, the best part of I'd say, a year and a half, two years get back to that level that I was at previously in terms of the leg symmetry."

Froome still says he believes he can get back to try and have a realistic stab at taking a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title despite the stellar young talent coming through and dominating the sport.

Chris Froome has revealed that he still dreams of winning that elusive fifth Tour de France, while also admitting that he doesn't have any plans to retire yet.

Speaking to La Repubblica, Froome explained how much he is enjoying his cycling, and that he doesn't have any plans to retire. While the 36-year-old's best general classification performance this year is 23rd place, coming at the Tour of Slovakia, he still maintains that same motivation to keep riding. 

Plus, Froome still has at least four years left on his contract with Israel Start-Up Nation, following his switch last year from Ineos Grenadiers. 

"I like the lifestyle of a professional cyclist," said Froome. "Even if I don't return to my old level, it is invaluable for me to keep cycling. 

"This is a very nice job."

“After my fall, I was still in the hospital of Saint-Étienne thinking about whether I should stop. I lined up what I wanted in my life, whether I wanted to keep racing or do something else. Then I discovered that I really like racing, competing, traveling, cycling in the great outdoors."

Froome's form has never really recovered since the crash he had in 2019 during a time trial recon at the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he suffered numerous broken bones. The four-time Tour de France winner did manage to return to the peloton in 2020, but he hasn't hit the same heights he was once capable of.

Regardless, the Briton still harbours a desire to match the joint-record of five Tour de France victories, held by Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain.

“I still dream of that fifth Tour victory. Seeing Alejandro Valverde and Vincenzo Nibali gives me a lot of motivation to keep training. They are respectively five years and a year older than me. But they also won races last month. That gives me courage.”

However, Froome also understands that the emergence of riders such as Tadej Pogačar will make the task even tougher. 

“I am particularly impressed with his mental condition," said Froome. "He always has a lot of pressure on his shoulders and the way he handles it is incredible. I've never seen him do anything wrong in race. 

"If he attacks, he wins. And if he doesn't win, he's in control. If nothing stops him, he can break any record. And if he wants to, he can be the first after Marco Pantani to win the Giro d'Italia and Tour in the same year.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Froome had one more year on his contract with ISN. Froome is in fact contracted with the team until at least 2025.  

Chris Froome has stepped in as an investor at Factor bikes, one of the sponsors of his Israel Start-Up Nation team. 

The four-time Tour de France winner has been building himself a portfolio of cycling investments, recently agreeing he is in the autumn of his racing career.  

Earlier this year, Froome invested in New York-based cycling tech company Hammerhead, and has now put money into Factor, his first time investing in a bike brand.

Announcing the news, Factor said: “This is Chris’ first investment in a bike brand and was driven by his passion for Factor bikes and his belief in our brand. 

“As one of the greatest cyclist of our generation, Chris will be instrumental in our product development and is dedicated to our mission to push the boundaries of what’s possible and never being satisfied with the status quo.” 

Froome first started riding Factor when he joined Israel-Start-Up Nation for the 2021 season, having spent most of his career on Pinarello while riding for Ineos Grenadiers (formerly Team Sky). 

Factor was founded in Norfolk, England in 2007, releasing their first production bike in 2013, and has since had design input from former pro riders Baden Cooke and David Millar. 

The brand first joined the WorldTour in 2017 Ag2r-La Mondiale, then sponsoring Israel Start-Up Nation from the team’s debut season in 2020. 

Froome has been fairly vocal about Factor bikes since switching to the machines earlier this year. 

On his YouTube channel, Froome gave an honest review of his Factor Ostro VAM, the first disc brake bike he had ridden in his career, saying he was not: “not 100 per cent sold" on discs yet. 

But he did add: "Out on the road, the Ostro handles incredibly well, I love the straight lines... the power transfer on it feels great. Get up, out the saddle, it feels like your power goes directly through the bike and propels you forwards."

He did note some flex at the handlebars, adding: "I hear from the guys over at Factor that they're working on those."

Froome has been making a number of interesting career moves away from his professional riding, including setting up his YouTube channel where he posts updates for his fans, and investing in brands likes Hammerhead and Factor. 

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Announcing his investment in Hammerhead, another Israel Start-Up Nation sponsor, Froome said: “I recognise I'm in the latter part of my career now. I've always said that I'd love to be involved in cycling, even beyond my career.  

“It really is a pleasure for me, an honour for me to be able to work with a company like Hammerhead and see things stuff that I've wanted to see on the head unit for years, to see that actually being implemented weeks after I've brought it up with the development team. So it's a special relationship and hopefully one I'll keep long after my racing career is finished.” 

Chris Froome has called out people who hurl insults at athletes on social media, reminding them that sportspeople aren’t necessarily superhuman in the way they deal with emotion.

Froome, a four-time Tour de France winner, spoke about mental health in the latest video on his YouTube channel, where he also provided an update to fans on his Tour de France, and the slightly bizarre moment he appeared on a national news show in France. 

Mental health in high performance sport became a major talking point during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as athletes including Simone Biles and Adam Peaty spoke out about the pressure they face as Olympians. 

This was followed by the sudden death of New Zealand track cyclist Olivia Podmore in the days after the games. 

In his latest update, Froome said: “Something else I feel as if I should talk about is the mental health side of professional sport. 

“I think generally there’s expectations on athletes now that they’re almost super-humans. I don’t think all athletes are necessarily super human in terms of dealing with emotions and all the criticisms sometimes thrown their way. We saw more and more athletes who are really struggling because of the direct access through social media and other media outlets - people can sit behind a screen and throw insults in a way you wouldn’t do if you saw them in person, or passed them in the street or the supermarket.

“If I can put any message out there, I would just say think twice before you hurl an insult at an athlete. We’re all giving our best every time we represent our country or our team.” 

Froome has been the target of plenty of social media abuse in his career, most recently as he tries to return to form after the career-threatening injuries he suffered in his 2019 crash.

The latest step in his recovery was a return to the Tour de France with his Israel Start-Up Nation team, having been absent from the race since 2018. 

Froome was at the tail end of the peloton for much of the race, having suffered a nasty crash on the opening stage and battling through with his injuries, eventually finishing 133rd overall. 

He said: “After the Tour de France I took a bit of time off. That was a brutal race. That crash on day one really put me back. 

“That was a high speed crash. I think we hit the deck at over 60km/h, bodies and bikes everywhere. I hit a point on my upper leg, I think it must have been on someone else’s bike, but I couldn’t even stand up.

“It was really important to carry on the race, even though I was black and blue for the best part of two weeks. I felt ribs all the way through to Paris, even on the cobblestones of the Champs Elysées. I felt it was important just to get through the race and get the Tour de France in the legs.”

Froome also offered a little more insight into an unusual development that occurred recently, as he made a cameo appearance on a French news show and was referred to as a “touring cyclist” by a reporter during a piece about forest fires. 

He said: “The other day I found myself in the news, which was a pretty funny story.

“I’d gone out for a little spin on some back roads that I never normally see anyone. All my team jerseys were dirty so I’d put on a black jersey.

“I had a French TV crew stop me in the middle of the road and tell me the road was closed for risk of fires in the area. I ended up being on national French television. I think because I was wearing a neutral jersey, the journalists weren’t sporting journalists, they didn’t recognise me. I just nodded, said okay and left. 

“That made it onto the news, that even ‘bike tourists’ are being stopped from riding in this area. Next thing I know I had thousands of messages coming through from people saying they’d seen me on the news.” 

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Froome returns to racing at the Deutschland Tour on August 26. 

Organisers of the Deutschland Tour organisers have confirmed the start list for the 36th edition of the race and it has some of the sport's biggest names.

The race around Germany takes place over four challenging stages that see a mix of sprint and hilly stages to find the overall winner of the orange leader's jersey.

This year's race should see a heated battle in both the bunch sprints and the fight for the overall as stars from both sides are down to ride.

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Joint record-holder for the most stage wins at the Tour de France, Mark Cavendish teams up with recent Tour of Poland winner João Almeida in a strong Deceuninck - Quick-Step squad that also sees French champion Rémi Cavagna, and new father Yves Lampaert among the squad's line-up. 

Chris Froome continues his fight back to full fitness as he joins André Greipel and Patrick Bevin with Israel Start-Up Nation, as the seven-time Grand Tour winner begins his final racing block of the season.

The German WorldTour squad, Bora-Hansgrohe have of course sent an all-German team with Pascal Ackermann, Emanuel Buchmann and Nils Politt starring for them.

Former world champion Rui Costa comes with Davide Formolo and Alexander Kristoff (all UAE Team Emirates) with German sprinter Phil Bauhaus and Spaniard Pello Bilbao leading Bahrain Victorious.

Even the German national team has a big name in John Degenkolb, who rides for his nation due to the absence of Lotto-Soudal at the race. 

Other riders who catch the eye are Tour de France top-10 rider Ben O'Connor (Ag2r-Citroën), Norwegian sprinter Kristoffer Halvorsen (Uno-X), young German climber Marco Brenner (DSM), teenage talent Ben Tullet (Alpecin-Fenix), Ilnur Zakarin (Gazprom-RusVelo), Francisco Galván and Roger Adrià (both Kern Pharma).

Starting on the north coast of Germany before a long transfer down to the central part of the nation, the race then starts to link up and head further south to the hills. 

Its opening stage starts in Stralsund and finishes in Schwerin on a largely flat 191km route, then onto the second stage between Sangerhausen and Ilmenau with a very hilly finale and should be a battle in the GC.

The third day is likely going to be the most challenging for the riders with climbs in the finish town of Erlangen after starting in Ilmenau. The last stage should be another sprint with Erlangen being the start town with the finish in Nürnberg.

Racing starts on Thursday, August 26 with the race ending on Sunday, August 29.

Famed “bicycle hiker” Chris Froome has made a subtle appearance on a French news show, as he was stopped from completing his planned route due to forest fire risks. 

The four-time Tour de France winner made a brief cameo on France 2, the part state-owned national broadcaster, during a training ride not far from his home in Saint-Raphaël on the Mediterranean coast.  

During the broadcast, Froome is stopped from continuing along the road due to the risk of forest fire in the Massif de l'Esterel mountain range.

Local authorities in the south of France have recently warned of a “very severe risk” of forest fires, a blazes have swept across other parts of southern Europe, with residents being warned to stay away from the forests earlier this week.  

The journalist presenting the piece on France 2 referred to Froome as “Ce randonneur à vélo”, which roughly translates as ‘bike hiker,’ seemingly unaware it was a sporting superstar on a training ride. 

Video of the moment has emerged on social media, after it was spotted by another French journalist Johan Rouquet, and has sparked plenty of enjoyment for cycling fans. 

One Twitter user said: “France 2 didn’t recognise a multiple winner of the flagship sporting event, which it has been broadcasting for decades on their antennas.”

Another said: “Working on the news doesn’t make you an expert in cycling. No one recognises cyclists unless they really care about them.

“Personally I don’t give a damn about cycling so I never would have recognised him.” 

Froome hasn’t raced since he completed the Tour de France last month, as he is still fighting his way back to fitness after his career-threatening injuries in 2019.

>>> Who are the British riders riding the Vuelta a España 2021?

Having opted to skip the Vuelta a España, the 36-year-old will see out the rest of the season in a number of smaller races, including the Deutschland Tour and the Tour of Slovakia, ending the year at the autumn Classics in Italy, including Il Lombardia.