Earlier this week, Team Ineos leader Chris Froome responded to reports that he had to leave training camp early, noting that his last camp was in early December and not as recently as had been implied. Since Friday's training camp in Gran Canaria, Froome has once again taken to social media to let his followers know that he is healthy and training hard.

"During training camp.... In training camp.... No, I really am," Froome wrote in a cheeky message on Twitter, accompanied by a photo of him and other Team Ineos players out training.

Such was the confusion that Dario Cioni, Ineos' sporting director, was concerned about Froome's recovery from his big crash at last year's Criterium du Dauphiné and said that Froome had returned home after two days of training in Spain and that Italian media ( This happened after reports in Bicisport and SpazioCiclismo.com) that Froome had returned home after two days of training in Spain.

The training camp in question apparently took place in Majorca, and although he did not explicitly deny that he left the camp early, Froome posted last Sunday evening, clarifying that the camp was some time ago: "It was the beginning of December when I joined the training camp. My recovery is going well and I will be heading to the next training camp on Thursday. Previous"

Meanwhile, Dave Brailsford, head of Team Ineos, moved to further defend Ryder in the aftermath.

"No one should underestimate Frum. He and Ineos will do everything in their power to get him in the best shape possible before the start of the Tour de France in Nice on Saturday, June 27."

Starting Thursday, Froome will be joined by a number of teammates, including fellow British rider Tao Geohagen Hart, former world champion Michal Kwiatkowski, veteran German rider Christian Nies, and Ireland's Eddie Dunbar, among others, in Spain s Gran Canaria Island.

With Froom no longer joking about his physical condition, the 34-year-old seems committed to training hard and regaining the kind of form that won him the last four Tours, no matter what the first race of 2020 is.