Christopher Froome

INEOS last week named their Tour team but found no room for either Froome or Geraint Thomas, who have five general classification titles between them.

The hugely successful British outfit are instead again relying on Egan Bernal, the 2019 champion, as Froome and Thomas target the Vuelta and Giro d'Italia respectively.

Froome, 35, only returned to competitive racing in February after a horrific crash at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphine left him with multiple serious injuries. He will join Israel Start-Up Nation next year.

Speaking at the team's season launch, INEOS general manager Brailsford outlined exactly why Froome and Thomas had been held back.

"They're both big champions," Brailsford said of the pair.

"Chris is obviously coming back from his accident. He's won more than anybody else in this current generation. He's a legend of the sport.

"But with a cycling team, the cycling season is spread over the Grand Tours, it's not all about one race. We look at our riders and see who's the best suited to go for the big races.

"We've decided for Geraint to focus on the tour of Italy, a very important race for us. To try to double up on the back of his Tour win and try to win the tour of Italy, that would be amazing.

"For Chris, he has a little bit longer to get back from his injury and then focus on the tour of Spain. He's won it before and he's on his way back.

"You've got to admire his tenacity and his mental strength to come back to where he has. It's remarkable. I'm sure he can get back to that level and challenge for the tour of Spain."

The Tour is going ahead despite the coronavirus pandemic, yet Bernal is confident the riders' competitive spirit will not be impacted by the crisis.

"I think the race will be the same," Bernal said. "With or without COVID, we will go full gas.

"The racing will be the same, but when we arrive in the hotel or at the start or the finish, it will be different. We will miss the people. Fortunately, they can see on the TV."

Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas have been left out of Team INEOS' line-up for the 2020 Tour de France, it has been announced.

The Kenya-born Briton has won four Tour de France titles, the Vuelta twice and the Giro d'Italia once during a decade of service with the team, although all those titles came under their previous guise of Team Sky. 

Next year, the 35-year-old will ride for Israel Start-Up Nation and Froome concedes it has not fully sunk in he will no longer be at INEOS. 

"It is a sort of bag of mixed emotions really. It is suddenly strange thinking that I won't be in INEOS colours in a few months' time," he said.  

"But after 11 years it's all coming down to the Vuelta again. It is a race that I genuinely enjoy racing.  

"This year's edition is going to be quite different. It is not the typical Vuelta in mid-summer, August, in Spain.  

"We're at much cooler temperatures. It's going to feel a lot more like Pays Basque for three weeks, I think, up here.  

"But I am looking forward to racing and looking forward to finishing my time at INEOS on a high hopefully.  

"We have got a great team here to support Richard [Carapaz] as much as possible. And yeah just take it one day at a time and hopefully finish off on a high note." 

Froome has not truly returned to top form since suffering a serious and season-ending crash at the Criterium du Dauphine in June 2019, while the coronavirus pandemic caused several events to be cancelled or postponed this year. 

Such lengthy time away from the roads is a challenge, Froome admitted. 

"Certainly, given the amount of time off after my injury last year and the amount of time off with COVID earlier this season, I was extremely light on racing and I felt I really missed that," he added.  

"I missed the race speed, I missed just being in the peloton and having to stay on the wheels. I felt as if that took a lot more out of me than it typically would. 

"So a lot of this process has been just getting back up to speed again and getting used to that race rhythm and trying to find some more of that top-end, if you like.  

"But I feel as if I have certainly closed that gap quite recently and it will be interesting to see how far off I am once we get into the guts of this Vuelta." 

Froome is out of contract in December and will part ways with the David Brailsford-helmed outfit – formerly known as Team Sky – because he can no longer be guaranteed sole team leadership.

The 35-year-old triumphed at Le Tour in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017, although INEOS' domination of road cycling's premier event continued with Geraint Thomas taking glory in 2018 and Egan Bernal prevailing in Froome's injury absence last year.

A scramble for the services of one of the sport's all-time greats is now set to ensue, although Cycling News reports Froome has agreed a multi-year contract with Israel Start-Up Nation.

"It has been a phenomenal decade with the team, we have achieved so much together and I will always treasure the memories," said Froome, who also won the Vuelta a Espana in 2011 and 2017 before completing the set of cycling's Grand Tours at the 2018 Giro d'Italia.

"I look forward to exciting new challenges as I move into the next phase of my career, but in the meantime my focus is on winning a fifth Tour de France with Team INEOS."

Froome superseded 2012 Tour winner Bradley Wiggins as the team's dominant force when he topped the podium on the Champs-Elysees 12 months later.

However, Brailsford indicated the likes of Thomas and Bernal now have their esteemed team-mate on the other side of that equation.

"Chris' current contract comes to an end in December and we have taken the decision now not to renew it," he said.

"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.

"Chris has been with us from the start. He is a great champion and we have shared many memorable moments over the years, but I do believe this is the right decision for the team and for Chris.

"Given his achievements in the sport, Chris is understandably keen to have sole team leadership in the next chapter of his career - which is not something we are able to guarantee him at this point. A move away from Team INEOS can give him that certainty.

"At the same time, it will also give other members of our team the leadership opportunities they too have earned and are rightly seeking."

Froome has been the dominant force of cycling for most of the last decade, with four Tour de France victories underlining his brilliance.

However, the Briton broke a leg, his elbow and suffered fractured ribs after crashing into a wall in a training ride at the Criterium du Dauphine in June.

Doubts have been cast over whether the 34-year-old will be able to return to his best form, and Kittel suggested competition from within Team INEOS could make life even tougher for Froome.

"If you look at Chris Froome as an individual athlete, he has already proven his work ethic over the last few years," Kittel, a stage winner in each of the Grand Tours, told Stats Perform.

"How much time and hard work he puts into his training. Despite his fall, his ambitions are still clear to him.

"One question is just how much he has recovered from his fall and injury. He himself says that it looks good. The other question is how to resolve this within Team INEOS with the additional riders of Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas.

"So how do you go into a Tour with these riders? I imagine that it is very difficult even if the athletes don't play with open cards, to support each other in form or in a team when other teams are strong and attack."

This year's Tour has been pushed back to August 29 after France president Emmanuel Macron banned mass public gatherings until mid-July.

Kittel, who doubts if the race will be able to commence on that date, believes Froome will be among the contenders whenever the event takes place, but said his legacy is secure regardless.

"In the end, Froome will be on par with [Eddy] Merckx," said Kittel.

"He's won all the big tours. He has won the Tour de France four times so far. Maybe he will succeed a fifth time. There are not many riders who have achieved that."

The INEOS Grenadiers rider was involved in a crash while training close to his hometown of Bogota in Colombia on Monday.

Bernal, the 2019 Tour de France champion and victor of the 2021 Giro d'Italia, struck a parked bus at high speed while riding his time trial bike.

Posting on Instagram, Bernal wrote: "Having had a 95 per cent chance of becoming a paraplegic and nearly losing my life doing what I love to do most, today I want to thank God, the Clinica Universidad de La Sabana, all the specialists for doing the impossible, my family, friends and all of you for your wishes. 

"I'm still in the ICU waiting for more surgeries but trusting in God everything will be fine."

Bernal underwent two operations following the incident, with the hospital confirming the surgeries were a success.

An INEOS statement later clarified the extent of the Colombian's injuries.

"Egan suffered a fractured vertebrae, a fractured right femur, a fractured right patella, chest trauma, a punctured lung and several fractured ribs in the crash. Doctors were able to medically pin his right leg and stabilise the vertebrae fracture in two separate surgeries," the statement read.

A hospital statement, reported by BBC Sport, read: "Egan Bernal Gomez has continued with the expected recovery and with a favourable trend.

"Egan continues with his rehabilitation plan, he has not shown signs of infection, he is also in good spirits.

"Tomorrow he will have two surgeries, which are secondary procedures that are not life-threatening."

Froome competed at his 10th Tour de France in July but was forced to abandon the race after stage 17 when he tested positive for COVID-19.

The Israel-Premier Tech rider sat 26th overall, having achieved his best Tour stage result since 2018 when he finished third on stage 12 up the Alpe d'Huez.

Froome is a seven-time Grand Tour champion but has never been able to recover his peak performance since a crash at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphine, which left him in intensive care.

The 37-year-old now heads to Spain, where he won his first Grand Tour general classification jersey in 2011 but has revealed it has taken longer than he expected to recover from coronavirus.

Froome said in a press conference: "I felt as if I was coming into really good shape, certainly in the second and third week [of the Tour de France].

"So it was unfortunate to leave before the end of the race and not make it to Paris. But I think I was one of many who unfortunately got COVID.

"Unfortunately, it did affect me pretty heavily. I was symptomatic, probably for about 10 days. Then even after starting training, again, I was still really, really struggling to get the hard training done.

"I also had to follow the advice of the medical team, which was to not try and push it. I think a lot of people with COVID had made the mistake to try and start too early again. So it really did disrupt I guess my preparations for the Vuelta.

"I was really hoping to finish the Tour and then build on that condition almost immediately afterwards to get into the Vuelta. But unfortunately, with COVID, I wasn't able to do a lot of that work.

"Having said that, I have had a good past 10 days of training now. I'm a little bit unsure of where I'm at. I'm hoping just to survive the first week the best I can and look to really build into the race."

Froome has won the Vuelta twice, following up his success in 2011 with a triumph in 2017.

"The Vuelta is a really special race for me," he said. "The Vuelta is a race where back in 2011 I really had my breakthrough as a Grand Tour contender.

"It's a race where I love what the Vuelta tests in people. If you look at the GC battle of the Vuelta, it's brutal. Normally many more uphill finishes, many more mountain stages than other Grand Tours. It's a race that I've always enjoyed."

Four-time champion Froome and 2018 winner Thomas were not included in the eight-man line-up for the first Grand Tour of the year, which will begin on August 29.

Froome, who will move to Israel Start-Up Nation next year, will target the Vuelta a Espana and Thomas will lead INEOS' charge at the Giro d'Italia.

Reigning Tour champion Egan Bernal will spearhead the team's hunt for an eighth title in nine years and will be supported by debutant Richard Carapaz, who won the Giro last year.

Froome only returned to competitive racing in February after a horrific crash at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphine left him with multiple serious injuries.

He will now have to wait until 2021 for his next chance to win a record-equalling fifth Tour.

Team principal Dave Brailsford said: "I am very proud that we have several current, and I am sure future, Grand Tour champions in the team.

"Selecting the right leader in the right race with the right support team is critical 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. 

"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.

"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. 

"In turn, Chris Froome will target the Vuelta. 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."

The Tour was postponed from June 27 to August 29 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It meant Froome, who missed all three Grand Tour events last year after suffering severe injuries in a high-speed crash, had more time to recover after returning to action in February.

Asked if the delay had helped him prepare for his push for a fifth Tour victory, Froome told Cyclingnews: "Very much so in fact.

"The delay to the major races has helped me take the next step in terms of being back to my normal self again.

"I think that given where we are right now, with just about a month to the Tour, I'm on the right trajectory for that race. I'm happy with where I'm at."

Froome will end his 10-year spell with Team INEOS at the culmination of the 2020 campaign to join Israel Start-Up Nation.

However, Froome is not thinking about his future beyond this season.

"There are going to be a lot of changes, but that's still a few months away, so I'm not really thinking about that now," said Froome. 

"I'm just focused on getting the best out of myself for the rest of the season."

The four-time Tour de France winner broke a leg, his elbow and suffered fractured ribs after crashing into a wall in a training ride at the Criterium du Dauphine in June. 

Earlier this month the Briton dismissed reports he had suffered a setback in his recovery and on Wednesday the Team INEOS rider provided an upbeat update in a video posted on Twitter.

"Training has been going really well over here in Gran Canaria so I'm really happy to announce I'm going to be starting my season at the UAE Tour next month, starting in Dubai," he said, with the event beginning on February 23. 

"It's a race I missed out on last year so a great place for me to start my season this time around.

"Thanks for all the support and see you out on the road."

Froome turns 35 in May and has seven Grand Tour titles to his name, the most recent coming at the 2018 Giro d'Italia.

Froome has won the Tour on four occasions, in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 – only four riders (Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain - all five) have more general classification wins. 

The 37-year-old finished 133rd overall at last year's Tour, his first entry since coming third in 2018, but will bring up double figures for appearances in the race when it gets underway in Copenhagen on July 1.

Froome told his team's media channels: "It's awesome to be starting my 10th Tour de France with Israel-Premier Tech.

"I've worked exceptionally hard this year and I'm looking forward to giving it my all. We've got a great group of riders in the line-up and we can't wait for the battle to begin in Copenhagen."

Froome will ride largely in support of Denmark's Jakob Fuglsang, with the team's general manager Kjell Carlstrom insisting stage wins are their priority this year.

"In this Tour, the main priority for us is to win a stage," he said. "With Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana stage wins to our name, we would like to complete the grand tour trifecta with a Tour de France win, so it's certainly our main focus to begin with.

"We also want to keep our options open and see what may be possible in terms of fighting for a leader's jersey like we did last year, when we had Michael Woods fighting for the KOM jersey. 

"However, hunting for stages is definitely the most important goal for us in this year's Tour de France."

Four-time Tour de France winner Froome has agreed a "long-term" contract with ISN, tying him to the team until "the end of his illustrious career".

The 35-year-old, who also has a pair of Vuelta a Espana triumphs to his name along with the 2018 Giro d'Italia, will conclude the 2020 season with Team INEOS.

David Brailsford explained Froome's departure from the outfit formerly known as Team Sky was due to the fact he could no longer be assured of sole leadership of a squad that has produced Tour de France winners Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal in the past two years.

ISN, where his team-mates will include Dan Martin and Andre Greipel, can offer that guarantee.

"I'm really excited to be joining the ISN family," Froome said. "I look forward to challenging and being challenged by their talent and continuing to strive for the success that I've enjoyed up to now.

"ISN's impact on the sport is rapidly expanding, and I'm energised to be along for the ride. I feel we can achieve great things together."

ISN co-owner Sylvan Adams believes Froome can become recognised as the finest rider in the history of the sport during his time with the team.

"This is an historic moment for ISN, Israel, Israeli sports, our many fans all around the world and, of course, for me personally – a moment of enormous pride," Adams said.

"Chris is the best rider of his generation and will lead our Tour de France and Grand Tour squad.

"We hope to make history together as Chris pursues further Tour de France and Grand Tour victories, achievements that would make a serious case for Chris to be considered the greatest cyclist of all time."

Lance Armstrong, who won seven straight Tour titles from 1999, was the subject of the biggest doping scandal in cycling's history after allegations throughout his career.

The American was eventually stripped of his honours in October 2012 and admitted to using banned substances the following year.

Other high-profile names were also found guilty in the same era, and Team INEOS star Froome acknowledges the sport has had to work hard to turn its reputation around.

In an interview on Instagram, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen referred to Armstrong as he asked Froome about a period of widespread doping in cycling.

Froome replied: "We're still having to justify ourselves. It's 15 years on at least, and we're still talking about it. It did a lot of damage.

"That era has damaged the sport to a great extent, but I do really believe that the sport has turned the page.

"I don't think that I could have won the Tour de France four times if it hadn't changed. I think the sport is in a great place now.

"Of course, it's challenging with the negativity and always having to answer the same questions year in, year out to the sceptics who won't believe any performance.

"But at the same time, what can we do? We just get on with it and we know that what we're doing it right. We've got nothing to hide."

Comparing performances between modern-day riders and past dopers, Froome added: "Obviously we know what was happening 15 or so years ago. I'd say that the majority of the field were using something to go faster.

"The sport is 100 times cleaner, yet we're going faster up climbs than they were then. The best way to explain it is that as a sport we've evolved so much in terms of technology and nutrition and ways of training.

"As athletes, we're probably better than they were 15 years ago. Having said that, I don't think that our ability to recover is the way it was back then.

"Using whatever it was to manipulate their blood back then would have meant that they could have done that day in, day out.

"Now we'll have one massive stage and you can visibly see that there's a change in pace for the next two to three days. The whole group needs to go slower."

Bernal, the winner of the 2019 Tour de France and last year's Giro d'Italia, was involved in a crash while training close to his hometown of Bogota in Colombia on Monday.

According to local media reports, the 25-year-old struck a parked bus while riding at a high speed.

Bernal underwent two operations at the Clinica Universidad de La Sabana. On Tuesday, the hospital confirmed that the surgeries had been a success, but the rider remained in intensive care.

INEOS subsequently released a further update on the Colombian.

"Following yesterday's training accident, Egan remains in a stable condition in intensive care after two successful surgeries," the statement read.

"Egan suffered a fractured vertebrae, a fractured right femur, a fractured right patella, chest trauma, a punctured lung and several fractured ribs in the crash. Doctors were able to medically pin his right leg and stabilise the vertebrae fracture in two separate surgeries.

"He is now in an intensive care unit where other potential secondary injuries are being managed, as well as his body's response to the trauma.

"The team would like to thank the medical staff at Clinica Universidad de La Sabana and everyone who has sent messages of support to Egan. All of our focus is on ensuring Egan is given the best possible care as he starts his road to recovery."

Among those sending support to Bernal was former team-mate Chris Froome, who himself has had to overcome serious injuries to return to cycling.

Froome, a four-time Tour de France winner, suffered a fractured right femur, a fractured elbow, and fractured ribs, after a high-speed crash into a wall while training in 2019.

"My thoughts are with Egan and his family today," Froome wrote on Twitter.

Riders face a challenging climb up Mont Ventoux not once, but twice, during stage 11 – a 199kilometre route which will finish in the town of Malaucene.

The gruelling double-assent in the Alps will take place approximately half-way through the event, which will begin in the north-west city of Brest and end in Paris.

Next year's edition – the 108th Tour de France – features two time trials, set for the fifth and the penultimate stages.

Organisers have also incorporated Andorra into the race, with stage 15 featuring the highest peak – a 2,408metre-high summit of Port d'Envalira in the Pyrenees.

In the 2020 race that was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tadej Pogacar snatched victory from Primoz Roglic of Jumbo-Visma in a penultimate-stage time trial.

Chris Froome did not compete in this year's Tour de France, which is one of few major sporting events in 2020 to have gone ahead in front of crowds.

INEOS Grenadiers elected against renewing Froome's contract, and the 35-year-old – who has signed a multi-year deal with Israel Start-Up Nation – is aiming to become the fifth man to win Le Tour on five occasions. 

Up the famous Alpe d'Huez, on Bastille Day, Olympic gold medallist Pidcock stormed to a remarkable, record-setting triumph – his first Grand Tour stage win.

Having attacked with 10 kilometres of the climb remaining, approaching the culmination of a 165.5km ride on Thursday, the 22-year-old Yorkshireman saw off Louis Meintjes to claim a remarkable triumph.

In the process, Pidcock – who was part of a five-man breakaway that took a six-minute time gap to the foot of the final ascent – became the youngest stage winner up the Alpe d'Huez in Le Tour history, breaking the record held by Lucho Herrera since 1984.

Yet Pidcock's tale was not the only incredible story of a quite sensational stage, with four-time champion Chris Froome claiming third, having planted himself in the breakaway group. While the yellow jersey is far out of the 37-year-old's reach, his performance echoed the form he was able to show in the years prior to his serious crash in 2019.

Behind the lead group, the fascinating general classification tussle between new leader Vingegaard and two-time defending champion Pogacar unfolded, hinting at the drama that is sure to come over the coming stages.

Pogacar twice attacked late on, yet Jumbo-Visma's Vingegaard kept pace.

The GC rivals pushed on for a sprint finish, with Pogacar nosing ahead to claim fifth place, though he was unable to damage Vingegaard, while Pidcock's INEOS Grenadier's team-mate Geraint Thomas, who conquered the mountain while wearing yellow in 2018, put himself into the top three in the overall standings.

But the day belonged to Pidcock, who after ploughing on to victory through thousands of vociferous spectators, said: "That was unbelievable, one of the craziest experiences ever. I can hardly hear anything, I've probably got hearing damage!

"That was ridiculous, at many points I thought I was going to get taken out."

Team GB's golden boy a speed demon

Pidcock is a star on the mountain bike, and those technical skills came in handy on the descent of the Col du Galibie, which preceded the climb up Alpe d'Huez. He clocked a top speed of 100km/h on the way down, while he averaged 19.7km/h on his way up to the summit finish.

"That is a record, I've never been over 100k before. It helps when there's a race to go for, doesn't it?" he said. 

"I'm lucky that I can descend or I wouldn't have won today. I don't think there was any way of me getting away at the start of the stage but I knew if the break was close enough at the top, I could go across on the descent because it was pretty twisty. I'm lucky Froomey was in front, we worked well together."

Froome, who won his first Tour de France when Pidcock was just 13, said: "He was flying down the descents today. His bike handling probably came in handy, there were a few times where I held back a bit because I was definitely at the limit."

STAGE RESULTS

1. Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) 4:55:24
2. Louis Meintjes (Intermarche–Wanty–Gobert Materiaux) +0:48
3. Chris Froome (Israel–Premier Tech) +2:06
4. Neilson Powless (EF Education–EasyPost) +2:29
5. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) +3:23

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS 

General Classification

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 46:28:46
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) +2:22
3. Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) +2:26

Points Classification

1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 313
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) 159
3. Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 155

King of the Mountains

1. Simon Geschke (Cofidis) 43
2. Louis Meintjes (Intermarche–Wanty–Gobert Materiaux) 39
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 36

The British rider sat 26th overall after Wednesday's stage 17, having spent over 69 hours on the road for the Israel Premier-Tech team.

The 37-year-old achieved his best Tour stage result since 2018 when he finished third on stage 12 up the Alpe d'Huez.

After a huge crash at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphine, Froome was left in intensive care with multiple serious injuries. He looked nailed on for his best general classification result in a Grand Tour since then as the riders edged closer to the finish in Paris this Sunday.

However, in a video message posted on his Twitter page, Froome said he had received "pretty disappointing news".

"A test has revealed that I've contracted COVID, so I'm not going to be taking the start today," he said.

"I'm really disappointed not to be able to roll into Paris and finish off this Tour de France. It's been an extremely special race for us as a team and me personally as well. I've been finding my legs again.

"I'm going to head home now, switch off for a few days, and refocus on being ready for the Vuelta a Espana later this season."

The Vuelta begins in the Netherlands on August 19, with a time-trial opener in Utrecht, before taking place in Spain from stage four onwards.

The stage was won by fellow Brit Tom Pidcock on his Tour de France debut, but Froome's third-place finish was a brilliant side story in another engaging day.

After a huge crash at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphine, Froome was left in intensive care with multiple serious injuries.

The incident threatened to end his career, but after a long recovery Froome has now achieved his best Tour de France stage finish since 2018.

Having been part of a five-man breakaway over the penultimate ascent, Froome managed to stick with the lead group right the way up the famous final climb of Thursday's stage.

Despite finishing over two minutes behind Pidcock, the Israel-Premier Tech rider was understandably proud of his performance, and told reporters: "No regrets today.

"Naturally, I would have loved to have put my hands up and tried to win the stage.

"But I gave it absolutely everything I had today and I don't have any regrets.

"I think where I've come from the last three years, battling back after my accident, to finish third on one of the hardest stages on the tour, I can be really happy with that.

"I'm going to keep pushing, I don't know where my limits are. I'm going to keep trying to improve and hopefully get back to winning ways again."

The four-time Tour champion was involved in the second major crash late in the opening stage from Brest to Landerneau on Saturday.

Froome appeared be struggling to stand after hitting the deck along with a whole host of other riders, but the Brit was able to finish the stage.

The Israel Start-Up Nation rider was in hospital until the early hours of Sunday morning, but will be on the starting line-up for a 183.5km second stage from Perros-Guirec to Mur-de-Bretagne Guerledan.

Froome said in an interview posted on his team's Twitter account: "That was definitely a bit of a crazy stage. One moment everything was fine heading towards the finish and the last 10ks and then 60-70km an hour, I think there was just a touch of wheels somewhere in the peloton and it was just carnage.

"Probably 50-60 riders on the floor, unfortunately there was just nowhere for me to go. I braked as hard as I could but still just went into the back of the guys who crashed in front of me.

"I hit my left side pretty hard, my left leg, and also the chest but went for scans last night and spent the whole evening in the hospital, got back at like 1am but all good.

"No fractures, just a lot of swelling, a lot of bruising. I'm pretty sore this morning but I'm going to try and get through today, survive the stage and hope over the next coming days it starts to feel better."

World champion Julian Alaphilippe delighted the home crowd by claiming the yellow jersey on day one.

The British rider was seriously injured at the Criterium du Dauphine in June, when he broke a leg, his elbow and suffered fractured ribs after crashing into a wall.

Froome underwent surgery and missed the rest of the season but is gearing up for racing again in 2020 with Team INEOS.

Reports had claimed Froome was struggling to get back to full health, with Team INEOS sports director Dario David Cioni quoted as casting doubt on that prospect.

In quotes widely attributed to Italian publication Bicisport, Cioni is reported to have said: "After two days of training in Spain, Froome, who aspires to the fifth yellow jersey, returns home. He is not well and who knows if he will recover."

Yet Froome has given his side of the story, and stressed the picture is far brighter than has been suggested.

He wrote on Twitter: "Hope that I can set this straight, I was last at a training camp at the beginning of December. My recovery is going well and I will be heading to my next training camp on Thursday. Onward."

Froome, who will turn 35 in May, last won a Grand Tour event when taking victory at the 2018 Giro d'Italia. His Tour de France triumphs came in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017, while he also has two wins at the Vuelta a Espana on his impressive list of honours.

As well as returning to the saddle for the annual major events on the cycling calendar, including the Tour in June and July, Froome is also hoping to ride for Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Tokyo this year.

He was one of several riders to take an opportunity in October to visit the route for the Olympic road race, which includes climbs on the lower slopes of Mount Fuji.