Chris Froome adds extra race to his pre-Tour de France programme
The four-time Tour champion will take part in the Tour of the Alps in Austria and Italy this month


Chris Froome will race his last event as a Team Sky rider at the Tour of the Alps later on this month, from April 22 to 26.
After the Italian stage race, Froome and will begin to compete in the Team Ineos jersey at the Tour de Yorkshire. The 33-year-old's main aim this season is to take a record-equalling fifth Tour de France overall victory.
>>> Chris Froome says he struggled to trust Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2012 Tour de France
Froome raced the Tour of the Alps in 2018, placing fourth behind winner Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), before conquering the Giro d'Italia in May.
This summer, he is using it to add more race days to his programme after having to skip the UAE Tour. He cancelled the UAE Tour from his programme to allow himself to "recover fully" after going too deep in the Tour Colombia, both in the race and in training beforehand.
It has been a rocky start for Froome this season. So far, he has finished 91st in the Tour Colombia and 94th in the Volta a Cataluyna with crashes ruining both races for him.
The Tour of the Alps, formerly the Giro del Trentino, runs from Kufstein, in Austria, over the Italian border to Bolzano. The five stages cover distances from 100 to 180 kilometres, with nearly every day including a serious climb.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Ineos will take over as a sponsor on May 1, replacing Sky Media after 10 years. Froome raced in the team's colours colours for the entire run of Sky. After the Tour of the Alps, he will hang up the jersey and don the new one for the Tour de Yorkshire, starting May 2.
Typically, Team Sky take their Giro d'Italia leader to the Tour of Alps. They did so with Bradley Wiggins, Froome, Richie Porte, and Geraint Thomas in the past, with Porte winning in 2015 and Thomas in 2017.
This year, Colombian Egan Bernal will lead the team along with Gianni Moscon in the Giro but will not take part in the Tour of the Alps. The 22-year-old has already had a full race programme that included fourth overall in the Tour Colombia, winning Paris-Nice and placing third in Cataluyna.
The 2019 race, ranked 2.HC, includes five top WorldTour teams in the line up.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
Romain Grégoire descends to take Tour de Suisse opening stage win
The 22 year-old Frenchman attacked the day’s final descent in pouring rain to win from a huge breakaway take the overall lead
-
Tadej Pogačar wins the Critérium du Dauphiné as Lenny Martinez bags the final stage at Plateau du Mont-Cenis
Pogačar lays down a Tour de France marker, comfortably resisting a late attack from Jonas Vignegaard to take the overall honours
-
Would Dave Brailsford returning to Ineos Grenadiers be a good idea?
Reportedly on his way out of Manchester United back to a wider role at Ineos Sport, the old Team Sky boss might be back in the world of cycling
-
Geraint Thomas to move into management role at Ineos Grenadiers after retirement - reports
Welshman due to retire at end of 2025 but expected to stay with team
-
'I only found out I was coming to this race yesterday' - Sam Watson claims first WorldTour win in 3.4km Tour de Romandie prologue
Brit wins by just three tenths of a second to take leader's jersey
-
'It can really push me along' - How a velodrome comeback is making Caleb Ewan faster on the road
Australian says he'll "definitely" continue track work after rekindling passion
-
Could Caleb Ewan be Ineos Grenadiers' first Tour de France sprinter since Mark Cavendish? 'That's my goal'
"All I can do is try to win as much as possible and prove that I deserve to be there," says Australian
-
'An unprecedented opportunity for brands to be part of the evolution' - Ineos Grenadiers sponsor hunt steps up with sales agency partnership
Sportfive have been employed to find "non-endemic global partners for the team"
-
'We've all got a little bit extra in us this year' - Ineos Grenadiers recapture 'fighting spirit' with aggressive Paris-Nice display
British team continue to put tumultuous 2024 behind them with momentum and a new found mentality
-
Could a TotalEnergies deal be the end of Ineos Grenadiers as we know them?
Reports suggested this week that Ineos could be close to signing a deal with the French petrochemical firm