Chris Froome has not been 'value for money' for Israel-Premier Tech - team owner Sylvan Adams
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Published 14/07/2023 at 07:10 GMT
Chris Froome is not at the Tour de France after failing to secure a place on the Israel-Premier Tech squad for the biggest event in the sport. Team owner Sylvan Adams has said the four-time Tour de France winner had not earned a spot on the team due to his form, and the Canadian said Froome had not been value for money since joining the team in 2020.
'We'll find out this weekend' - Rowe backs Pidcock to challenge for podium
Israel-Premier Tech owner Sylvan Adams has hit out at Chris Froome, saying the four-time Tour de France winner has not been value for money to the team.
Froome joined Israel-Premier Tech in 2020, saying his aim was to be competitive at Grand Tours after battling back from serious injuries.
But his form has been poor, and he was left out of the eight-man team for the 2023 Tour de France.
After failing to earn a place on the team, Froome said: “It was a pretty big disappointment, a pretty big letdown. I really felt as if I was on track, I felt as if physically I was ready.”
Adams signed Froome to a reported multi-million-pound deal, with the aim to be competitive in the sport’s biggest races, and the Canadian has said the 38-year-old has not offered value for money.
“How could we say we had value for money?” Adams told Cycling Weekly. “We signed Chris to be the leader of our Tour de France team and he’s not even here so that cannot be considered value for money.”
Froome was in the later stages of his career when signing for the team, and on the back of the serious injuries he suffered at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphine it would be a stretch to suggest he was the force of old.
Adams has denied Froome was signed in a bid to boost the team’s profile.
“This is not a PR exercise,” Adams said. “Chris isn’t a symbol, he isn’t a PR tool, he’s supposed to be our leader at the Tour de France and he’s not even here, so no I couldn’t say he’s value for money, no.”
Froome has only had one top-10 finish in four years, when taking third on Alpe d’Huez at last year’s Tour, and Adams says injuries can no longer be used as an excuse for his form.
“With respect to his injuries, we were really innovative with bringing him back,” Adams said. “We sent him to the Red Bull centre in Los Angeles, he worked with amazing specialists to rebalance his legs. Chris’ [recent] performances have nothing to do with his injuries in my observation. I don't think Chris is using that as an excuse anymore.
“We took a risk, but we were signing, as I said, the best Grand Tour rider of this generation, and I was willing to take the risk as we were a little team and overnight, we were hoping to become contenders here at the Tour.
“It did raise our profile, but this isn’t a PR exercise. My idea was, ‘wow, we’re going to have somebody to be relevant for the GC at the Tour de France’ and that hasn’t happened.”
Despite what could be interpreted as a dig at Froome, Adams says the Brit has a place on the team.
"Chris expressed, publicly I think, an interest in possibly riding until the age of 40,” Adams said. “That would imply another two years after this year.
“The commitment I made to Chris was that he will retire on our team, so when he decides - with a ceiling of age 40 as those were the parameters we discussed - he wants to hang it up, it’ll be on his terms and that’s the personal commitment I made to Chris. He doesn’t have a five-year contract exactly. But it can go up to five years if Chris so decides.”
- - -
Stream the 2023 Tour de France live and on-demand on discovery+ and eurosport.com
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement