For four-time Tour winner Chris Froome (37) his participation was hanging by a thread.
Froome declared for the Dauphiné that he was finally freed from the suffering after a heavy fall in 2019, but Froome had to leave the French stage race early again.
However, the team management does not doubt the value of the Briton. “It’s great that I can participate in my 10th Tour,” said Froome. “I’ve worked hard this year.”
The WorldTour team is primarily aiming for stage wins between Copenhagen and Paris. They have already won in the Giro and the Vuelta, but not yet in the Tour.
“We are also keeping our options open for a side classification, as Michael Woods fought for the mountain jersey last year. But stage win is clearly our main goal,” explains team manager Kjell Carlström.
Jakob Fuglsang and Michael Woods showed their fine legs last week in the Tour de Suisse and the Route d’Occitanie.
The spearheads are also assisted by many other thirty-somethings: Daryl Impey (stage winner in Switzerland), Simon Clarke, Hugo Houle, Krists Neilands and Omer Goldstein.
