Chris Froome admits that he is not certain to be a member of the Israeli premier tech squad for the Tour de France. Four-time Tour winner Chris Froome is currently competing in the Criterium du Dauphiné, where he was more than three minutes off the pace in the stage 4 time trial. [Froome told L'Équipe (open in new tab), "No, there are no guarantees. "The team's strategy will change, especially depending on the points situation to stay in the World Tour. I think there are still a lot of questions and uncertainties at this point, because we may have to target different races to get the points."

Israel Premier Tech is currently in the relegation zone in the three-year ranking that will determine its qualification for the 2023 WorldTour, and general manager Kjell Carlström told Cycling News this week that the team is "putting the best resources to get the best results. We are focusing a little more attention on that." Sepp Vanmarcke recently revealed that he will skip the Tour de France and compete in a smaller one-day race in Belgium.

Three years have passed since Froome was seriously injured in a crash during time trial reconnaissance for the 2019 Criterium du Dauphiné. Froom completed the 2020 Vuelta a España and the 2021 Tour in the intervening years, but the injury was an obstacle in those races as well. However, he expressed optimism about his current condition.

"Towards the end of January and beginning of February I felt for the first time that the pain in my hip and the stiffness from the fall were gone.

Froom recently finished 11th in the Mercan Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes, a race won by teammate Jacob Hulsang, his best performance since 2019, but he downplayed the idea that his performance was a relief: "For me was confirmation that I had done a good job."

Froom will face a tougher test on the final weekend of the Dauphiné, with consecutive mountain stages to Vaujany and Plateau de Sarezon. I don't have any special expectations," he said. I just want to do the best I can and see where I stand on the longer climbs compared to the rest of the field."