Chris Froome returns to racing! Ahead of Tour de France, Briton headlines Mercan'Tour Classic
Cycling
Israel - Premier Tech have confirmed their lineup for the Mercan'Tour Classic this upcoming Wednesday and it includes Chris Froome, who will be headlining the race. This is the Briton's return to competition in a season that has not gone his way.
The team features Jesse Maris and Pau Marti Soriano from the development project. The team comes with several options for a result in a race that includes climbers such as Lenny Martínez and David Gaudu of Groupama-FDJ and Guillaume Martin of Cofidis. Stephen Williams, winner of Flèche Wallone, is one of them but he should not be well suited to the high mountains where the race will be decided.
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Climbers Mason Hollyman, Matthew Riccitello and Matthew Riccitello make up the bulk of the climber's block. Bennett, most likely, will lead the team's ambitions for a result after having shown good form at the Giro d'Abruzzo in April, finishing third in the overall classification only behind Alexey Lutsenko and Pavel Sivakov.
But the team's main figure will be Froome, who also raced here for the past two seasons finishing 11th and 14th respectively. Last year he was the team's highest finisher, but that was not enough to then earn him a presence at the Tour de France. Hence, this will be an important challenge for his current form after an altitude training camp, but will in no way decide what is to happen within a month.
Froome suffered a scaphoid fracture at Tirreno-Adriatico back in March and was forced to be in a cast for four weeks. Ultimately, this ended his spring, before he could even reach the form he was training towards. The veteran finished the Tour du Rwanda earlier in the season but has effectively not raced in two and a half months.
Israel - Premier Tech for Mercan'Tour Classic:
George Bennett
Chris Froome
Mason Hollyman
Jesse Maris
Pau Marti Soriano
Matthew Riccitello
Stephen Williams
Chris Froome
Mason Hollyman
Jesse Maris
Pau Marti Soriano
Matthew Riccitello
Stephen Williams
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- I think Tadej will be working on his new C7 TT position for the Tour de France :-)frieders304-11-2026
- Every great cyclist has at least two Giro/Tour doubles, and in modern cycling or what we call modern cycling, Miguel Indurain is the only guy to do it twice. I think Tadej should go for it and commit if he is putting up good numbers somewhere around January/February.awp04-11-2026
- the 6th TDF is a more record breaking opportunity than a 2nd Giro. Jonas can double up. For Remco its TDF. For Sexias it will be a good opportunity but as usual TDF will be his main goal For del Toro, yes good opportunityabstractengineer04-11-2026
- Well, this is something which isn't all that common
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - He lives in Monaco
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - It's also highly significant for Lorenzo Finn as he won there last year. Also Mateo Ramírez and Henrique Bravo if they go
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - This is a phenomenal course design. I do wish that they'd stretch these tours for the women to at least 2 weeks.RidesHills03-11-2026
- This is an amazing route, honestly. Let's hope that it attracts riders to make it a compelling and competitive race. Side bar amusement: going to Slovenia and passing pretty close to Pogačar's house. I wonder if they were tempting him to get all 3 jerseys at once after winning the Tour and Vuelta. After all, only a very few have ever had all three at the same time (Froome being the last).RidesHills03-11-2026
- He was a child two years ago
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - A great route aswell. Col d'Arpy is a toughie
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026
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We're back in the saddle tomorrow for a huge day of climbing at @MTClassic06! Meet our team for Mercan'Tour 👇 #MercantourClassic06 🇫🇷 #YallaIPT
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