Chris Froome abandoned the Criterium du Dauphiné due to illness ahead of the weekend's decisive mountain stage and was advised by the medical staff at Israel Premier Tech to focus on rest and recovery.

Froom (opens in new tab) is showing signs of improvement after two years of pain and suffering following his crash at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphiné (opens in new tab) and will be in the Tour de France (opens in new tab) in Israel Premier Tech (opens in new tab). 3]

Israel Premier Tec (opens in new tab) would not give details of Froome's problems, saying only that he has been "unwell for the last two days."

"I was looking forward to the last two stages of the Dauphiné, but I was not feeling 100%," Froome said Saturday morning.

"It would be a shame to finish the race unfinished, but I've made good progress and I don't want to set myself back on this important stage of the season."

It has been three years since Froome was seriously injured in a crash while scouting the time trial at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphiné.

In the meantime, he completed both the 2020 Vuelta a España and the 2021 Tour de France, but injuries and further crashes hampered him at last year's Tour.

He had expressed optimism about a return to form, but now Israel-Premier Tech must make a tough decision about Froome's role in the Tour de France team, while at the same time trying to earn as many UCI ranking points to avoid relegation to the WorldTour in 2023.

"This is really the first time in the last three years that I haven't had a niggle and haven't had any problems. I have no pain, no discomfort, and my left and right legs are balanced," Froome said before the second stage of the Dauphiné.

"Basically, I've been able to work consistently and keep things moving in the right direction from January to now without interruption. We are seeing the results of that."

"Given what I've accomplished in my career, it's understandable that people would have these expectations, but at the same time, I think people need to remember where I've come from, that the last three years are a completely different place," he said.

Froom was scheduled to run the Mont Ventoux Challenge on Tuesday, but that now seems unlikely. Like many teams, Israel Premier Tech is likely to select its eight riders for the Tour de France after the Tour de Suisse.