Four-time winner Froome left out of Tour de France team

Four-time champion Chris Froome has been omitted from Israel-Premier Tech’s Tour de France team for the second year running.

The British rider, who has not won a race since 2018, finished 81st in the recent Criterium du Dauphine, an event used traditionally to gauge form prior to La Grande Boucle.

The 39-year-old has endured a difficult opening to the season after fracturing his wrist in the Tirreno-Adriatico in March and only returned to racing in May.

Welshman Stephen Williams has made the eight-man squad, designed to chase stage victories, after becoming the first British rider to win La Fleche Wallonne in 88 years earlier this term.

Britain’s Jake Stewart and Canada’s Derek Gee, who impressed at the Dauphine, have also been included.

Froome finished 133rd in the 2021 Tour and was forced to withdraw 17 stages into the 2022 edition with Covid, while placed 26th in the general classification.

He originally joined Israel-Premier Tech in 2021, with the aim to get back to full fitness following a 2019 crash in which he sustained a career threatening injuries.

However, he has struggled to regain the sort of form that made him a multiple Grand Tour winner.

Sylvan Adams, Israel-Premier Tech’s owner, has previously said his signing has “absolutely not” been value for money for the UCI Pro team.

Froome, who has one-year remaining on his contract with the Israeli team after this season, previously won seven Grand Tours in 10 years at Team Sky – the Tour de France in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, the Giro d’Italia in 2018 and the Vuelta a Espana in 2011 and 2017.