Chris Froome (Team Ineos) is perfectly capable of riding a bike, albeit much slower than before. As he walks with a limp on his right leg, his hopes of winning his fifth Tour de France title next July, the most in history, seem truly hazy.

"At the moment, I'm certainly better on the bike than on foot," Froome told Japan Cycling News at the Saitama Criterium over the weekend.

"When I was on crutches, there were stages where I needed crutches to get on the bike. When I went to the bike with crutches, everyone looked at me with white eyes.

Nearly five months after the accident, which broke his femur, hip, elbow, vertebrae, and sternum, Froome is back riding, but he cannot pedal at more than what he calls "tourist pace."

He was also delayed on Friday when he went to preview the 2020 Olympic course with Jacob Fuglsang, Romain Bardet, and Michal Kiwatkowski, and was ruled out of Sunday's Saitama Criterium.

He lined up for the 3.1 km team time trial earlier in the day, but felt he was not ready to ride 60 km in the peloton, even though it was essentially an exhibition event.

The critical phase of his rehabilitation comes a week or so after he undergoes surgery again to remove various metal fragments to stabilize the fracture. He showed me a recent x-ray showing a large metal plate on the outside of his hip and two screws in his femur just above his knee.

"I'm limping now because of the plate in my hip. It's a tendon that's catching and it's hard for me to exert myself when I walk.

"The femur fracture is healing really great. The screw will probably stay in forever. Thank goodness the fracture is on the outside of the joint, in the middle of the bone. The only thing on the joint is the elbow, but at the same time it's just the elbow, and it's healing really well."

Once he recovers from the surgery, Froome said he will be ready to begin serious training, at which point he should begin to see a return to professional racing.

"I'll need a few weeks of rest after the surgery, but I'll be able to train normally again in December, and then I hope to get better from there. I hope to be back racing by at least February."

As for whether the Tour de France next year and a fifth title alongside Eddy Merckx, Jacques Ancuaille, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain are realistic goals, Froome sees no reason to forego them.

"In sport, and in life in general, there are no guarantees in a process like this. I don't know what level that is, but I want to be back racing the Tour de France within four months and back to my usual self. That's my goal and I'm going to make that my goal until I find a reason to believe that it's not possible."

"That's my motivation right now. I feel like I'm so close to being one of the five. That's a really big goal for me. Also, next year is the Olympics on a really hilly course, so it's the perfect goal to follow up the Tour de France. It's a season with a lot to see."

Froom may not be able to make a comeback before he wins his fifth title next July. He must also accept the possibility that his former level may not return.

"That was my biggest concern," he said. It's one thing to race and another to try to win the Tour de France. Racing and trying to win the Tour de France are two different things.

"We don't know yet. Like I said, there are no guarantees. What I do know is that I will give it my all. I feel I still have the power."

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