Chris Froome (open in new tab) admitted that he needs a "good few months" to get back to his best form, but set his sights on the 2020 Tour de France and a possible fifth Tour de France (open in new tab) win, which could tie the record as the "driving force" behind his recovery. He has made it clear that he does not have the form to compete in the Giro d'Italia in May.

Froom crashed heavily in June during a reconnaissance run for the time trial stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné. He crashed into a wall at 60 km/h and suffered an open fracture of his femur as well as fractures to his sternum and neck. Just recently, Froome had undergone surgery to remove a metal plate and screws that were preventing him from returning to training.

Froome was back on his bike by the end of the summer and competed in a short team time trial at the Saitama Tour de France criterium in late October with several teammates from Team Ineos (open in new tab), but until the surgery to remove the metal, he was limping. He walked with a limp. He is now cleared for full training and hopes to return to racing in February.

"It's been a tough six months, but I feel pretty lucky that it hasn't gotten worse or more serious," Froome said on the latest edition of Team Ineos teammates Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe's "Watts Occurring" podcast. He said. [Yesterday I officially got on the bike for the first time since my second surgery to remove the metal part. We'll see how it goes step by step."

"I'm certainly not 100% ready to take on the Giro, so the Tour makes a lot of sense logistically, and obviously for my own ambitions, to get number five, the record is a big goal.

"It's also quite a challenge to make that my goal. But it highlights how far I've come from winning the Tour de France, I've lost six months of weight and it's going to take me a few months to get back there. That's what drives me, that's the light at the end of the tunnel.

Lowe and Tomas joked that Froome looked like he was riding his bike the same way he always did, and praised him for avoiding a change in physique after the injury. Froome is known for rounding his back and often looking down instead of forward.

"My head was still facing down, and the crash didn't fix it," Froome joked.

"I've been working hard to keep my form and my driving style, to not get into bad habits.

"First I need to get back on the bike and work on my weaknesses. Right now my right leg hasn't worked well for six months, so it's pretty weak and needs a lot of work."