Wout Poels, one of Chris Froome's key lieutenants, has been told that he must prove his form at next week's Route de Sud if he wants to race the Tour de France.
The Dutchman, in his third year at Team Sky, has endured a frustrating season having not raced because of a knee injury since finishing fourth at the Ruta del Sol in mid-February; he only has 10 race days to his name all season.
Poels has been training for the last month and is set to race the four-stage Route de Sud which begins on June 15.
If he can show that he has recovered from his injuries, and also demonstrate his climbing powers, then he could be considered for a spot in Sky's Tour de France team.
Failure to alleviate concerns, however, will mean that Poels will not race July's Grand Tour and that would represent a blow to Froome.
"If Wout is on form, he's a pretty certain factor [he will race the Tour]," Sky's sport director Servais Knaven is quoted as saying in AD, a Dutch newspaper.
"But for us it is a wait and see. He has been out of racing for a long time and has only been training for a month.
"We want to see what his level is in a race and see how his knee holds up. In a training session you decide when you go hard and when you recover. It a race it can take up to five hours."
-
-
Faster with Dr Hutch: 2X Olympic champion Alastair Brownlee on keeping your focus
Dr Hutch speaks with Alastair Brownlee, Dr Josie Perry and physiologist Louis Passfield on staying focused
By Michael Hutchinson •
-
We need to talk about cycling and sustainability
Compostable bags are an excellent first step, but consumers should be asking for changes in production, says sustainability expert
By Michelle Arthurs-Brennan •
-
Egan Bernal, Adam Yates and Dani Martínez escape serious injury in Vuelta a Burgos crash
The Ineos Grenadiers leaders are using the Vuelta a Burgos as a warm-up race for the Vuelta a España later this month
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Egan Bernal and Adam Yates lead super-strong Ineos Grenadiers team for Clásica San Sebastián 2021
The Giro d'Italia winner returns to racing for the first time since taking pink in spring
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Ineos Grenadiers end partnership with Castelli in favour of new clothing sponsor
After five successful seasons, the British racing outfit is now parting ways with its Italian clothing partner
By Stefan Abram •
-
Early GC time gaps don't make much difference to eventual Tour de France podium, argues Ineos' Michał Kwiatkowski
The Polish super domestique says the British team were prepared to spend more energy early to keep GC riders safe, but even that can prove insufficient at the Tour de France
By Jonny Long •
-
Luke Rowe explains why he was handed fine on Tour de France stage three
The British rider was fined by commissaries for 'assault, intimidation, insults, threats, improper conduct'
By Cycling Weekly •
-
Tom Pidcock returns to road racing at Italian one-day race
The British rider is back racing just three weeks after breaking his collarbone
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Geraint Thomas: 'You need to be able to do everything well to win the Tour, it's not just about climbing'
The Brit gives his preview of the upcoming French Grand Tour where he will be vying for the yellow jersey
By Jonny Long •
-
Ineos announce their full Tour de France 2021 squad
Here is the eight-man team the British outfit will be taking to the French Grand Tour
By Jonny Long •
