Chris Froome to stay with Team Ineos for Tour de France, claims teammate
Chris Froome intends to ride the Tour de France with Team Ineos despite failing to agree a contract extension for next season, according to a teammate, Dylan van Baarle.
Froome’s deal with Ineos expires at the end of the year and the fourtime Tour winner has been linked with a move to the Israeli team Start-Up Nation, with some reports suggesting that he could make the move before the start of the race on 29 August to avoid a leadership battle with the reigning champion, Egan Bernal, and 2018’s winner, Geraint Thomas.
But Van Baarle, who is preparing for the Tour at a training camp with Froome and the rest of Team Ineos squad, told the Dutch newspaper AD that the 35-year-old had told him he has no intention of leaving until his contract expires.
“That would be strange. And I don’t think it will happen that he will go early,” said Van Baarle. “Of course we’ve talked about it, because it’s in the news all the time. But, as far as I know, he’s staying and wants to ride the Tour with Ineos. In the end, I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes with him either, but that’s what he says to us, so I assume he’ll be there.”
Froome was forced to miss last year’s Tour after sustaining multiple serious injuries in a freak high-speed accident at the Critérium du Dauphiné, with Colombia’s Bernal going on to claim his first Tour victory. The 23-yearold is expected to lead the Team Ineos challenge again at this year’s rescheduled race, casting doubt over the British rider’s future.
It was claimed last week that StartUp Nation, who are owned by the billionaire Sylvan Adams, have offered Froome a three-year deal and are also keen to sign Greg Van Avermaet and Jasper Stuyven.