Israel-Premier Tech team owner, Sylvan Adams, has said that Chris Froome has failed to deliver the expected return on investment since joining the team in late 2020.
“How could we say we had value for money?” Adams said, in an interview with cyclingweekly.com. “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. But Chris isn’t a symbol. He isn’t a PR tool. So no, I couldn’t say he’s value for money, no.”
No 2023 Tour de France for Chris Froome
The four-time Tour de France winner was excluded from the team’s final eight-man lineup due to a string of underwhelming performances in 2023. In a video shared on YouTube on July 13, Froome expressed his disappointment on the non-selection. He said he had good form and that the decision came as a significant setback.
Chris Froome on his Tour de France exclusion: ‘Physically, I was ready’
The 38-year-old cyclist once again elaborated on several mechanical problems he encountered during the races leading up to the Tour. He indicated that his race schedule had been less than optimal, stating that it “wasn’t really ideal.” Furthermore, he expressed a strong desire to demonstrate his capabilities and believed that he had much more to offer and display on the road.
Only as good as your last race
Adams did not mince words, saying that the four-time Tour winner has not lived up to the team’s expectations.
“We took a risk, but we were signing the best Grand Tour rider of this generation, and I was willing to take the risk,” the Montrealer said. “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.”
Is Chris Froome back? The IPT rider’s long breakaway showed some of his old panache
The IPT owner concluded by saying that his non-selection is was wholly justified.
“I am very respectful towards Chris,” Adams said. “He is a four-time Tour winner. I respect his past accomplishments, but if you want to be on this year’s Tour team or next year’s Tour team, we don’t care what you did seven years ago, we care about what you have done this year and you need to earn your spot.”
After a disappointing 2022, where the team was relegated from the WorldTour, Israel – Premier Tech is having a good 2023, thanks in part to a few Canucks. Derek Gee had an…
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