Froome to confront demons of the past as he returns to Cri´térium du Dauphiné

Israel - Premier Tech will focus more on the Tour de Suisse in the coming weeks as they seek to get UCI points, however at the Critérium du Dauphiné Chris Froome has been pointed out, as is Simon Clarke, as team leaders in the pursuit of form towards the Tour de France.

“It’s great to be back at the Critérium du Dauphiné. I have some great memories from this race – with six stage wins and overall victories in ‘13, ‘15 & ‘16," he said in a press release. The Briton has finished 11th at the recent Mercan'Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes in a showing of form that hasn't been seen for quite a while, and is giving positive signs to be ready for the Tour de France. With Michael Woods and Jakob Fuglsang heading to the Tour de Suisse, Froome will follow the traditional approach and be the head of Israel - Premier Tech in France.

This was the race where three years ago he suffered a career-changing accident, having crashed in the recon of a time-trial, breaking his femur, right elbow and ribs. He has since never returned to the level that he had before the crash. He has ever since raced the Dauphiné every year, however this with with ambitions - but more than results, the ambition to prove to himself that he can still race at a high level.

"Unfortunately, I’ve also had my fair share of bad ones with my big crash in 2019 and I’m hoping to finally put that behind me this year. I’ve seen some big progressions in my form over the last two months, and I hope to continue to build on it to put myself in the best possible position for July. I had a good ride earlier this week at the Mercan’Tour Classic, and I look forward to carrying that momentum forward into the Dauphiné," he concluded.

Israel - Premier Tech for Critérium du Dauphiné: Chris Froome, Simon Clarke, Omer Goldstein, Taj Jones, Guy Niv, James Piccoli and Guy Sagiv.