Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome and 2018 winner Geraint Thomas are glaring omissions from the formidable Team Ineos Grenadier line-up for this year’s race.
Froome will not get
the chance to bring down the curtain on his hugely-successful spell with Ineos
(formerly Team Sky) with a tilt for a fifth Tour yellow jersey as he “needs
more time”, according to team principal Dave Brailsford.
The 35-year-old
Kenyan-born British rider will instead aim for the Vuelta a Espana.
Froome has been
trying to get back to peak condition after he was involved in a high-speed
crash at last year’s Criterium du Dauphine which came close to ending his
career.
“Chris Froome will
target the Vuelta,” said Brailsford in a team statement.
“Chris is a legend
of our sport, a true champion who has demonstrated incredible grit and
determination to come back from his crash last year.
“We want to support
him to compete for another Grand Tour title and the Vuelta gives him that
little bit more time to continue his progress to the top level.”
Thomas will target
the Giro d’Italia, leaving defending Tour de France champion Egan Bernal as
Ineos team leader.
“Egan will once
again target the yellow jersey in France and we are very excited to give last year’s
Giro winner, Richard Carapaz, his debut in this year’s Tour also,” said
Brailsford.
“Geraint will
target the Giro and take on the opportunity to double up his Tour de France win
with another Grand Tour title, with the aim of being the first Welshman to win
it.”
Froome had tried to
prove he was ready for the Tour, which gets under way in Nice on August 29
having been postponed from its original date due to the coronavirus pandemic,
in the Criterium.
Froome, who is
joining new team Israel Start-Up Nation at the end of the season, had said he
felt he was getting there.
However, Brailsford
said he and the coaching staff had reached their conclusions after a
painstaking process.
“Selecting the
right leader in the right race with the right support team is critical,” he
said.
“And has meant we
have had to analyse all the latest information to make sure we are in the best
position possible to optimise our performances in the coming months.”
Ineos team for Tour
de France
Andrey Amador
(CRC), Egan Bernal (COL), Richard Carapaz (ECU), Jonathan Castroviejo
(ESP), Michal Kwiatkowski (POL), Luke Rowe (GBR), Pavel Sivakov (RUS), Dylan
van Baarle (NED)