“Everyone is wondering about Chris. He is on the list" - Chris Froome in contention for Tour de France return confirms Israel - Premier Tech DS
Cycling
Whatever happens in the rest of his career, Chris Froome has already written his name into the annals of Tour de France history. However, is there still one final chapter to be written in the story?
Recently, respected French outlet L'Equipe reported that the four-time winner of the Maillot Jaune is set to lead the Israel - Premier Tech lineup at the 2024 edition of the Tour de France, as much due to sponsor pressure than anything. These rumours and reports were quickly shut down by Froome himself, as was similar talk of an in-team feud between the Brit and his Canadian teammate, Michael Woods.
Speaking to Velo, Israel - Premier Tech's sports director, Rik Verbrugghe also shunned the L'Equipe report, although he admitted Froome is definitely in contention for a Tour de France return after missing out on selection twelve months ago. “Everyone is wondering about Chris. He is on the list. He came out of a good altitude camp, and we will see how it goes,” Verbrugghe explains. “It’s creating the right balance, it’s not just what you’re going to show this week. It’s going to help a lot if he’s performing at a really high level, there is no doubt.”
Four-time Maillot Jaune winner Froome's last Tour de France appearance came in 2022
Whilst Froome didn't exactly set the world alight at the recent Criterium du Dauphine and in turn force himself to be selected, the Brit's teammate, Derek Gee did leave a lasting impression, finishing 3rd overall in the biggest result of his career to date. “If he can do the same as he did at the Giro (Gee was a star of the 2023 edition of the Giro d'Italia ed.) at the Tour we would be very happy,” Verbrugghe says. “We want a good team at the start of the Tour so that we can have an objective every single day at the Tour, that is important. We don’t want only to bring climbers. We want to have that balance, to be offensive. We know that GC stages are not for us, so all the other stages we should try to win them.”
“We have to create that balance to be competitive in every stage, except the GC stages,” the sports director concludes. “All the guys are in good shape. It’s a question of not getting sick or crashing in these weeks before the Tour, and we can fine-tune the selection.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
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