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Chris Froome to Leave Team Sky?

By Monica Buck

The three-time Tour de France winner is supposedly unhappy with the English team’s image after the Jiffy Bag scandal and has approached BMC Racing. As the French sports daily l’Equipe reports, he is looking at a potential €5 million a year deal. But the BMC Racing general manager Jim Ochowicz is said to be now focused on securing the TAG Heuer sponsorship as a replacement for the BMC bike brand.

The incident of medicine being delivered to Wiggins at the 2011 Criterium du Dauphiné and his Therapeutic Use Exemptions tarnished the Team Sky’s image and Chris Froome was none too happy about it. He was also disappointed with the way Sir Dave Brailsford handled the situation, even refusing to sign a letter expressing the team’s support for him.

He later did release a statement supporting Brailsford but the wording showed he was clearly not pleased with the outcome.

Froome could potentially join his former lieutenant Richie Porte, who is now at BMC and who put out a splendid performance lately at a time trial on Stage 4 at the Criterium du Dauphiné.

We’ll keep you updated as the story continues to develop.

UPDATE: Froome dismissed the l’Equipe report that he has discussed signing for BMC Racing in the future. “Complete rubbish. I don’t know where that’s come from,” he told Cyclingnews. “As it stands I have a contract until the end of 2018. I’ve got no intentions of leaving. I’ve not even thought about it. There’s been no discussion with Ochowicz.”

UPDATE 2: “It’s a complete lie. That’s a lie,” Ochowicz told Cycling Weekly. “I wouldn’t even classify it as a rumour. It’s a flat-out lie.”