Chris Froome will be back in action next month at Saitama Criterium
Egan Bernal to also appear

Chris Froome will be back in action before the end of 2019, as he takes part in the Saitama Criterium next month.
The four-time winner of the Tour de France will ride the exhibition event alongside his team-mate Egan Bernal, who won the Tour this year.
Froome has been out of competition since June after he suffered devastating injuries in a crash at the Critérium du Dauphiné that left him in intensive care.
The Brit has been on the long road to recovery after suffering multiple fractures and recently completed short track sessions on the bike.
Froome suffered multiple fractures in the crash, including a broken femur, and was forced to miss the Tour de France, where he planned to chase a record-equalling fifth yellow jersey.
The fall happened during a recon of the time trial stage of the Dauphiné, as Froome crashed at almost 60km/h.
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Saitama Criterium will mark a significant step in his return to racing, as he will join other Tour de France stars on the 3.5km circuit through Saitama in Japan on October 27.
The event is a spectacle held by Tour de France organiser, ASO, which often sees racing take a back seat to pre-race activities, as riders don costumes and visit unique attractions in Japan.
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Last year, world champion Alejandro Valverde beat Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas in a sprint on the circuit.
Froome and 2019 Tour winner Bernal will ride the event this year alongside the likes of Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), the winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Critérium du Dauphiné this season.
In this year’s Tour, Bernal became the youngest winner of the yellow jersey and also the first Colombian to win the three-week race.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.