Chris Froome back in action this weekend at La Route d’Occitanie with Tour de France on horizon

He’s hoping to be part of the Tour de France once more

Chris Froome will return to racing at La Route d’Occitanie this weekend as he bids to earn his place in the Team Ineos squad for the Tour de France.

The four-time Tour winner has confirmed he will leave Ineos at the end of the season to join Israel Start-Up Nation, in large part because the emergence of both Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas – winners of the past two Tours – has pushed him down the pecking order within Sir Dave Brailsford’s team.

With Froome bound for the exit, speculation has centred on whether Ineos would be willing, or could afford, to go to the Tour with three potential leaders within their eight-man squad.

But they will test out the plan next month, with Bernal due to ride alongside Froome at La Route d’Occitanie – which begins on Saturday in Saint-Affrique – before Thomas joins the group and all three head to the Tour de l’Ain and the Criterium du Dauphine.

After overcoming career-threatening injuries suffered in a high-speed crash at the Criterium last year, the 35-year-old Froome is desperate for a shot at what would be a record-equalling fifth Tour crown when the rearranged race gets under way on August 29.

However, he has been offered no guarantees on his selection, and the form shown over the next three weeks will be key to the final decision.

Having been sidelined since last June, Froome made his comeback at the truncated UAE Tour in February, finding himself in lockdown at the race after a coronavirus scare led to the final two stages being cancelled.

Questions over his long-term future persisted for several weeks before it was announced earlier this month that he will end a decade-long association with what was Team Sky this winter, joining the Israel Start-Up Nation team that only joined the WorldTour this year.

PA