The four-time Tour de France winner has fought for three years to get closer to the form that saw him triumph in the biggest cycling race of them all so many times. Now, he finished just outside the top 10, 3:58 behind Fuglsang.
“For me, personally, I’ve seen a big progression these last couple of months,” Froome said in an interview for CyclingPro after the race. “I’ve just come off a training camp now. The legs are feeling good.
“Next up will be the Critérium du Dauphiné. For me, at the moment, I’m just taking it one week at a time, just trying to focus on building the feelings and momentum and for sure trying to get back to my old self again. I’m not there but I’m definitely one step closer.”
In April, Froome described a return to the Tour de France this summer as “a dream scenario”. Hopefully, this is a clear sign of things going in the right direction. The 37-year-old is in the midst of a second season with the Israel-Premier Tech team and will try to impress at the Dauphiné, which starts this weekend.
Will we see him at the start of the 2022 Tour de France? We certainly hope so.
