The non-inclusion of Chris Froome in the Israel team for the Tour de France is still generating controversy in the world of cycling and more specifically within Israel – Premier Tech.
After Froome himself published a video on Thursday in which he assured that “he was prepared for the Tour” despite being left out of the team, the owner of the Israel Premier Tech Sylvan Adams has made some harsh statements in an interview with Cycling Weekly in which he criticizes that Froome has not demonstrated the performance commensurate with his salary. “Froome is not worth the money we pay him. How could we say that he has been good value for money? We signed Chris Froome to lead our team on Tour and he hasn’t even been selected, so you can’t say he’s worth what he charges. We don’t want Froome as PR, he was supposed to be our leader in the Tour de France and he’s not even there so I couldn’t say he’s worth what he charges, no.
In the interview Adams admits that he knew the risks he was facing when he signed Froome but says the team have done everything possible for him. “When we signed him we had a double risk: the seriousness of his injuries after the accident and the advancement of his age. Regarding the injuries, we have worked with him to get him back. We sent him to the Red Bull center in Los Angeles and he worked with specialists to get strength back in his legs. Froome’s performance has nothing to do with injuries, and I don’t think Chris will use that excuse anymore.. We took risks, but we signed him, he was the best Grand Tour cyclist of his generation and we expected to be a small team but with ambition to fight for the Tour. My idea was to have someone relevant to the general classification of the Tour and that has not happened”.