After the current cycling season, Chris Froome is looking for other places. The British multiple Tour winner leaves Team INEOS, the team announced on Thursday. Meanwhile, his new team is also known: Israel Start-Up Nation.
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Froome’s contract expires in December and a lot of rumors have surfaced in recent months about the future of the 35-year-old Briton. INEOS wanted to put an end to this, it appears.
“We made the decision not to renew Chris’s contract,” said team boss Dave Brailsford. “We are announcing this earlier than usual because we want to stop speculation and be able to fully focus on the season with our team.”
Froome has been driving for the team since 2010, which was then called Team Sky. Since then, he has won the Tour de France four times, the Vuelta twice and the Giro once.
“Best of his generation”
Israel Start-Up Nation announced almost immediately afterwards that Froome will ride for them next season. There he will be employed “until the end of his career”.
“I look forward to joining the Israel Start-Up Nation family and being challenged by their talented drivers and their constant drive for success. I feel that we are going to achieve great things together ”, Froome commented on the quickly crashing website of his new team.
“This is a historic moment for the team, for Israeli sport and for Israel itself,” said team owner Sylvan Adams with the impending transfer. “It makes our fans and me in particular very proud. Chris is one of the best riders of his generation and will lead our Tour selection next season. We hope to be able to write history with him. Chris is still aiming for victories in Grand Tours and can thus become one of the greatest riders of all time. ”
“Our big goal as a team is to win the Tour de France,” Adams continued. “We want to build a strong team around Chris. With him as leader we push our limits. We arrive at the top of the cycling pyramid. Chris will become a perfect role model for our team. ”
Fifth Tour
But this year Froome is still driving for INEOS. “Chris has been with us since the start,” said Brailsford. “He’s a great champion and we’ve had many memorable moments over the years. I am convinced that this is the right decision for the team and him. Given his record, it is understandable that he wants to take the lead in the next chapter of his career, which was something we couldn’t guarantee him at this time. A departure does give him that certainty. At the same time, it gives other riders of our team the opportunity to act as a leader, an opportunity they deserve and want. I am therefore satisfied with the talent we have and will collectively prepare for the season. Like everyone else, we look forward to restarting the race next month. ”
Froom himself kept to a short response. “It has been a phenomenal decade with this team,” he said. “We have achieved so much together and I will always cherish those memories. I’m looking forward to new challenges, but in the meantime I am focusing on winning my fifth Tour with INEOS. ”
With reigning Tour winner Egan Bernal (23), ex-Tour winner Geraint Thomas (34), reigning Giro winner Richard Carapaz (27) and the talented Pavel Sivakov (22), it is a must in terms of potential leaders in the round work.
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