Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome (Team Ineos) has welcomed news of a calendar date change announced by the UCI and Tour de France (open in new tab) organizer ASO.

Speaking to Cycling News on Wednesday afternoon, the British rider said that the Tour de France in September remains his main goal, as does the World Championships.

"Looking at the possible dates set by the UCI, the Tour de France is my number one goal," Froome told Cycling News.

"If it doesn't conflict with the Tour de France, I would like to compete in the UCI World Championships.

As a result of today's announcement, the end date of the Tour de France (September 20) will clash with the elite men's time trial at the World Championships in Switzerland, while the road race will be held a week later on September 27, although the UCI confirmed that the World Championships date will not be moved, Tour de France riders could move the elite men's individual time trial to later in the week in order to win the rainbow jersey.

The Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España will occupy new slots, with the Italian Grand Tour possibly overlapping in October and the Vuelta in November.

Froome added that he would like to compete in one of them, but that possibility depends on when the new dates are.

"Depending on the other Grand Tour dates, I would like to be in either the Vuelta a España or the Giro d'Italia. I'll be discussing my program with Ineos head coach Tim Kerrison and the performance team over the next few weeks."

"This is all assuming things continue to head in the right direction with regard to the COVID-19 situation.

Froom has been holed up in his home in southern France for the past several weeks as the country has been shut down due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

After returning to racing on the UAE Tour, Froome headed to South Africa in mid-March for a training camp with teammate Dylan Van Baarle, but the trip had to be cut short when European governments began blockades and travel restrictions.

Earlier this week, he said he is "almost done" recovering from his brutal crash at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphiné and what lockdown time looks like after competing against his Ineos teammates in a special virtual race on Zwift. He revealed.