Chris Froome abandons last two stages of Criterium du Dauphine, raising more doubts over Tour de France participation

Chris Froome has abandoned the last two stages of the Criterium du Dauphine due to illness.

“I was looking forward to the final two stages of the Dauphine, but I haven’t been feeling 100 per cent,” the British cyclist said on Saturday morning.

“It’s disappointing to leave the race unfinished, but I’ve been progressing well, and I don’t want to set myself back at this important stage of the season.”

Israel-Premier Tech simply stated Froome was “feeling unwell the past two days.”

The 37-year-old finished 11th at the Mercan Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes earlier this month which was his best result since a career-threatening crash three years ago.

Froome suffered a fractured right femur, a fractured elbow, and fractured ribs after smashing into a wall when he was training for Stage 4 of the Criterium du Dauphine in 2019.

The seven-time Tour de France winner admitted earlier this week he is not sure if he will be selected by Israel Premier-Tech for this year’s Tour, which gets underway on July 1st, with only eight spots up for grabs.

“I think everything is up in the air, especially because of the points situation to stay in the World Tour, which will probably lead to a change in strategy in the team.

“We will potentially have to aim for different races to score points, so I think there are still a lot of questions and uncertainties at the moment.

“We will see how it goes. I’m not putting myself under any kind of pressure, I have no expectations, I just want to give my best, see how I fare on long climbs. And we’ll take it from here.”

His illness could prove to be another setback. Froome was due to ride at Mont Ventoux Challenge on Tuesday, but his participation looks unlikely.

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