Chris Froome has kept his passion for riding his bike and preparing for a goal, and although the future is unclear for Israel - Premier Tech, Froome is already thinking of the Grand Tours for the coming season and the Giro d'Italia could be on his plans.
“We still have to understand if we will be a WorldTour team or not," Froome told RoadCycling.cz, despite the virtual confirmation that Israel - Premier Tech have been relegated, and any issue with either Alpecin-Deceuninck or Arkéa Samsic would benefit Lotto Soudal and not the Israeli team. However, earlier this fall team owner Sylvan Adams threatened to sue the UCI if the team were to be relegated, so within the team there is not a complete acceptance of the real situation.
"I will try to prepare myself for the best possible scenario, which is the one in which we will be invited to the most important races. If not, I will certainly have a plan B to follow," Froome continued. The Briton showed his best legs during his build-up and Tour de France ever since recovering from his 2019 injuries, but a bout of Covid-19 caused him to abandon the Grand Boucle, and he could not recover his form in time for the Vuelta a Espana which he had been targeting.
Now, looking ahead to 2023, Froome hopes to return to the Tour, even if with modest ambitions. That is all but certain however due to limited wildcards, but the current difficult situation with B&B Hotels-KTM does favour the Israeli team. There are not many plans yet, but Froome revealed where he will begin his season: "Definitely, I will start my season in Australia, at the Tour Down Under 2023“.
“We'll see when the invitations are decided, I won't deny that it would be interesting for me to return at the Giro. I haven't studied the route yet, first we will have to understand what options we will have available," he continued. Froome has ridden the Giro on three occasions however only once recently, when he won the 2018 edition with a breakthrough raid in the queen stage on the final week which earned him a third consecutive Grand Tour win at the time.
He talks of that day: “If I had to choose the best day of my cycling career, it wouldn't be one that I spent in the Tour de France, but that of winning the Bardonecchia stage, with the action on the Colle delle Finestre. I went through that day with the idea of 'all or nothing', with the thought of having to give my all, take a risk and see what happens. I think that victory changed the way of racing, in general."
"Now we see many riders attacking from afar. Yes, I think that will be the success I will remember the most," he continued. The team has not signed any meaningful reinforcement, and will continue with the same main block as this season alongside Michael Woods and Jakob Fuglsang. Froome was asked about the race radios aswell, and has claimed perhaps a rather controversial opinion:
“I think it would be safer to race without them. Now the sports directors have a lot of information and they throw it at you over the radio. You know where there is a bend or a bridge and this causes you to go faster. The last 100km of a race is a long struggle, most of the time for nothing. If we really have to keep them, let's open the channels to fans and spectators, like in F1: it would be a great benefit for our sport, people would listen and understand what happens as a group. Would be great," he concluded.
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