Froome makes the cut as Israel-Premier Tech announce Tour de France squad

Chris Froome will head back to the Tour de France this year, the four-time winner having made the Israel-Premier Tech squad for the race.

He'll be joined in France by team leaders Michael Woods and Jakob Fuglsang as the Israel-Premier Tech squad aim to add a Tour de France stage win to previous victories at the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España.

Froome's participation is his tenth at the race, which he won in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Since mid-2019 he's been fighting back to full strength following a career-threatening crash at the Critérium du Dauphiné, recently achieving his best result in three years with an 11th place at the Classic Alpes-Maritimes.

"It's awesome to be starting my 10th Tour de France with Israel-Premier Tech," Froome said. "I've worked exceptionally hard this year and I'm looking forward to giving it my all. We've got a great group of riders in the lineup and we can't wait for the battle to begin in Copenhagen."

Fuglsang, who joined the team this year from Astana, will be taking the start in his home country of Denmark and aiming to win a stage at the race he finished seventh at back in 2013.

The 37-year-old headed up an IPT one-two with Woods at the Classic Alpes-Maritimes, going on to take third overall at the Tour de Suisse.

"Starting the Tour de France in my home country will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. I can't wait to get started. I'm sure the Danish fans will make this year's Grand Depart one that won't be forgotten anytime soon," said Fuglsang.

"After my victory in [the Classic Alpes-Maritimes] and third place overall in Tour de Suisse last week, I feel ready to take on this Tour. I've been working hard to get to this point, and I believe my shape is where it should be right now. The Tour is always unpredictable, but I'm here to leave my mark on the race and not just to be another pair of legs in the bunch."

Woods, who like Fuglsang has stage wins at the Vuelta a España to his name but so far none yet at the Tour, takes on the race for the 11th time. Last week he took victory at the Route d'Occitanie, taking a stage win along the way to the first stage race win of his career.

"I'm really excited to get started with this year's Tour de France," said Woods. "After Route d'Occitanie, I'm feeling really confident for the race. The first week is going to be very demanding, very stressful and very technical. My first goal is just not to crash in this opening week.

"I've come close to winning stages the last two times I've done the Tour, but I feel that I've always been hampered by injuries from crashes. This time around, the goal is just to stay safe and then have the legs ready to go in the final two weeks. There are quite a few stages there, which are suited to me, and I hope to take advantage of as many of them as possible."

Froome, Fuglsang, and Woods will be joined in France by fellow veterans Daryl Impey – who took a breakaway stage win at the Tour three years ago – and Simon Clarke – who has two Vuelta stage wins to his name.

Canadian Hugo Houle, Latvian Krists Neilands, and Israeli Omer Goldstein round out Israel-Premier Tech's eight-man Tour de France roster.

The team has eight wins so far in 2022, with four of them coming in the last three weeks. They're currently fighting for WorldTour survival as they and several other teams battle for UCI points in order to be among the top 18 ranked teams by the end of the season.

Israel-Premier Tech for the 2022 Tour de France

• Chris Froome
• Michael Woods
• Jakob Fuglsang
• Simon Clarke
• Daryl Impey
• Hugo Houle
• Krists Neilands
• Omer Goldstein