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
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter


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.
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 5 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.
-
-
Jess Roberts leads the Brits with Points Race Silver at the European Track Championships
Team GB take two Bronze medals in the men’s Team Pursuit and Team Sprint the first day of finals in Munich
By Owen Rogers • Published
-
Alex Manly breaks the Vos stranglehold with Tour of Scandinavia stage victory
The Australian wins a tense aggressive race after a late five woman move stay away to the line by a hair’s breadth
By Owen Rogers • Published
-
'He's going to win some big bike races' - Tom Pidcock hails Sam Watson as he turns pro with Groupama-FDJ
U23 British National champion has impressed his French team and more besides
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Adam Yates and Ineos Grenadiers discuss contract extension with Briton not assured of same Grand Tour opportunities
The Briton joined Ineos Grenadiers two years ago and is thought to be attracting interest from elsewhere
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
Leo Hayter joins Ineos Grenadiers as stagiaire before turning pro with team in 2023
Baby Giro winner will move to highest level next season alongside his brother with British team
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Dave Brailsford admits Geraint Thomas proved Ineos management wrong at Tour de France
Ineos Grenadiers director of sport lauds performance of Welshman along with Tom Pidcock
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Tour de France 2022: Jonas Vingegaard wins stage 18 on Hautacam to increase gap to Tadej Pogačar in second place
Danish rider wins a second stage to increase his grip on the overall lead ahead of Pogačar
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Chris Froome out of Tour de France after positive Covid-19 test result
Four-time winner and third on Alpe d’Huez stage forced to abandon on stage 18
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
‘I’ve still got the TT up my sleeve’: Geraint Thomas pins GC hopes on final Tour de France time trial
'If a situation works for both of you then yeah, definitely we’d work together' - Welshman refuses to rule out alliance with Tadej Pogačar
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-