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Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome will go away Team Ineos on the finish of the season to hitch Israel Start-Up Nation, it was introduced on Thursday. Froome, Britain’s most profitable rider, gained the Tour de France 4 occasions in 5 years from 2013 within the colors of Team Sky, which final yr turned Team Ineos. Team Ineos boss Dave Brailsford hailed 35-year-old Froome as a “great champion” however mentioned it was the suitable time to half methods.
He mentioned Froome was eager to have sole group management however Team Ineos, with fellow Tour de France winners Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal of their ranks, had been unable to offer that assure.
“Chris’s current contract comes to an end in December and we have taken the decision now not to renew it,” Brailsford mentioned.
“We are making this announcement earlier than would usually be the case to put an end to recent speculation and allow the team to focus on the season ahead.”
Kenya-born Froome mentioned: “It has been a phenomenal decade with the team. We have achieved so much together and I will always treasure the memories.
“I stay up for thrilling new challenges as I transfer into the following part of my profession however within the meantime, my focus is on profitable a fifth Tour de France with Team Ineos.”
Later on Thursday, Israel Start-Up Nation tweeted: “Welcome to our household, CHRIS FROOME!”
Serious injury
After winning the Vuelta an Espana in 2017 and the Giro d’Italia in 2018 Froome held all three Grand Tours but his star has since waned.
He was seriously injured when he crashed at the Criterium de Dauphine in June 2019 and spent months in rehabilitation, missing that year’s Tour de France.
Froome’s teammate Thomas emerged as the 2018 winner of the Tour while Colombian protege Bernal claimed the 2019 title.
He only returned fully to the saddle in February this year at the UAE Tour, which was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this year, Froome said his hunger for a fifth or even sixth Tour de France victory remained undiminished.
“My dream is to retire having gained extra Tour de Frances than some other rider,” he told French daily L’Equipe.
He needs one more to equal Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain, who have all won it five times.
This year’s Tour, postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, is set to be raced from August 29 to September 20.
Brailsford has overseen seven Tour de France wins with Team Sky and Team Ineos, with Bradley Wiggins claiming the first one in 2012.
Deep-pocketed Team Sky, backed by Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, were known for Brailsford’s meticulous and innovative application of “marginal good points”, the theory that many small advantages in areas as diverse as wind resistance, diet and sleep quality can add up to a significant improvement in performance.
However, their image was clouded in controversy over so-called therapeutic use exemptions, after a damning British parliamentary report said the team crossed an “moral line” by using the loophole to administer drugs to enhance performance.
Sky were caught in a long-running doping controversy that began when Froome returned an adverse doping test, for elevated levels of the asthma medication salbutamol, on his way to victory in the Vuelta an Espana in 2017. He was cleared 10 months later.
Froome said that during the 2015 Tour de France a cup of urine was thrown at him following accusations he was doping. He has always maintained he is a clean rider.
Team Sky became Team Ineos last year to reflect their new sponsor, the chemicals giant owned by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.
Promoted
The group have had loads of detractors inside biking for ways that many consider stifle racing.
Their superior price range allowed them to make use of riders who could be leaders elsewhere in a assist capability and successfully shut down assaults within the largest races, one thing that has proved unpopular with many, notably within the Tour de France.
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