Chris Froome continues to fight his way back from a career-threatening crash three years ago and is asking for patience and understanding.

Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome has been showing signs of good form of late and is currently competing in the Criterium du Dauphiné.

After leaving Ineos Grenadier in 2021 for Israel Premier Tech, Froome has struggled in recent seasons as he faces a long rehabilitation process and various physical problems surface.

However, a turning point seemed to come at last week's Classic Alpes-Maritimes, where he finished 11th, his best finish since the crash.

"This is really the first time in the last three years that I haven't had a niggle or a problem. I have no pain, no discomfort, and my left and right legs are balanced," Froome said before Monday's second stage of the Dauphiné. [Basically,] I've been able to work consistently and get things right from January to now without any interruptions. We are just seeing the results of that."

Froome, who will also compete in next week's Mont Ventoux Challenge, hopes to prove he is worthy of representing Israel Premier Tech in the Tour de France.

On the other hand, any further improvement in his performance will increase speculation as to whether he can really return to his old level of winning seven Grand Tour titles.

In a long and impassioned response to a question from ITV about his recent form, the 36-year-old said he has set no limits for himself, but tried to temper outside expectations.

"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'm coming from and that the last three years are a whole different place," he said.

"Three years ago in this race, I almost lost my life. I couldn't straighten my legs or put weight on my legs. It was a big rehab. I broke my leg in two places. There are no guarantees to come back from a condition like that. You have to go step by step."

"The first step is to be able to walk, then ride a bike, then ride a bike again. Then you try to get back into the racing peloton. Now I'm trying to take the next step to be more competitive at this level.

"I'm not going to set limits for myself or say, "This is my level, this is what I've reached." I'm just going to keep working as hard as I can and keep things moving in the right direction. I'm very fortunate to have the support of my team. Israel Premier Tech has been very patient with me and supported me in everything.