Chris Froome has admitted that he will face a personal battle of rehabilitation and recovery before he can compete in the 2020 Tour de France and win the yellow jersey for a record fifth time.

Froome crashed heavily while studying in the time trial stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné in June, breaking his leg, hip, ribs, vertebrae, and elbow; he watched the 2019 Tour de France from his hospital bed, but gradually began riding his bike, and in late October, in Saitama He plans to compete in the Tour de France criterium.

Froom was welcomed at the stage of the 2020 Tour de France route announcement in Paris on Tuesday with a slight limp, the only apparent result of the crash being the lack of muscle in his right leg.

He admitted that his first personal challenge is to be on the start line in Nice on June 27 as part of the final lineup of Team Ineos, which could include 2019 winner Egan Bernal and 2018 winner Geraint Thomas.

"Even to be on the start line at the Tour next year is incredible for me," Froome told Cycling News and other media backstage after his presentation.

"To win is more than that. To win after an injury like that is incredible. At the same time, just to be back on the bike at this moment is a huge victory."

Froom's career may have ended with a crash, but he never seriously considered throwing in the towel.

"From the moment I woke up [after surgery], I was always thinking about how I was going to get back in.

"When I heard that the surgery went well and that I could go back to normal, it was music to my ears. From that moment on, I was very positive and I could see that I was improving week by week and I hope I can start the New Year like this and start racing early in the season next year.

Froom started riding a stationary bike a few weeks after the crash and then started road riding.

With the 2020 Tour de France just eight and a half months away, Froome has made a return to the race that defined his career a major personal goal. A final decision on whether Froome will compete in the Tour as a member of Team Ineos will likely be made a few weeks before the race.

"So far, he has made an incredible recovery. There is still a lot of work to be done, but it is going as well as can be expected," explained Froome.

"I have to remove a plate and a lot of screws in my hip. But once that's done, things will be even better. I'm going to do what I can and make some progress and get back to where I was."

Froome probably hoped that the 2020 Tour de France would be an easier route. However, the mountainous course begins with the second stage, which sets up 29 mountain stages over the course of 20 days. Meanwhile, the time trial is only 36 km, with a mountain time trial to La Planche des Belle Fils on the final day to determine the winner of the yellow jersey.

"I haven't seen parcours that hard in the last five or six years. It's brutal," Froome admitted.

"There are not many time kilometers, but there are plenty of opportunities in the mountains. Especially the last TT up La Planche des Belles Fils. Especially the last TT up La Planche des Belles Fils.

Froome brushed off suggestions that the lack of a time trial suited French riders Julien Alaphilippe and Thibaut Pinot.

"That's the reality. You have to adapt to what the organizers throw at you every year. That's the nature of racing.

"It doesn't fit certain athletes. It fits any athlete who can climb ...... It fits Egan pretty well ......."

And it suits Froome.

"If I can get back to the start, I'll be confident enough to get to the start line," he enthused.

"First, I'll go back to where I left off and then start thinking about how I'm going to tackle the race. That, for me, is the biggest part of the preparation."