After it was announced that Chris Froome will miss the new team's training camp in Girona because he will be in California, Rick Verbrugghe, director of the Israel Startup Nation, rehabilitated and trained Chris Froome. further clarification on the process.

The four-time Tour de France winner continues to work on his recovery from the career-threatening crash he suffered at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphiné at the Red Bull Center in Santa Monica.

He was scheduled to join his new teammates in Israel for ISN's first camp of 2021, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rest of the team will now be in Spain instead. Verbrugghe said that Froome is getting closer to his old self.

"The center in Santa Monica is so good that we decided to keep him there for another month instead of coming to the training camp in Girona," Verbrugghe told Het Nieuwsblad (open in new tab). Chris is on the right track to getting back to the "old" Chris.

"On Tuesday I had a zoom meeting with Frum, director Paulo Sardinha, and general manager Kjell Carlstrom. He is getting stronger again. Sardinha flew in from Canada and also saw Chris work. His rehab is going well and he is regaining as much strength in his right leg as he did in his left."

Froom suffered a variety of injuries in the 2019 crash, including a fractured right femur, a broken right elbow, and broken ribs. He returned to racing during last year's UAE Tour and raced for 44 days during the pandemic-affected season.

The 35-year-old Froome did not show his previous form, but Verbrugghe explained that the race suspension from March to late July and the closure in Europe hampered Froome's recovery process. He added that he was much different from Froome at the Vuelta a España, where he finished 98th overall.

"Froome in the Vuelta is not the Froome of today. His rehabilitation was not perfect because of the blockade in Monaco last March and his distance from the team. In the meantime, he has become very strong.

"We sincerely said, 'Don't hesitate to stay [in California]. It would be unwise to interrupt his rehabilitation there now. Besides, we can't offer the same training and climate, it's quieter there."

"He has already done a lot of training there, but once he is 100 percent, he will increase the intensity of his training with a view to competing. Both he and the ISN leadership are convinced that it would be better for him to stay another month and come back in February."

Froom will start the season at the Volta ao Algarve, but Verbrugghe said the Vuelta a Andalucía and the UAE Tour are also options. He had planned to kick off the 2021 Vuelta a San Juan, but COVID-19 makes it unlikely that an international team will be invited.

After the Algarve, the road to the Tour de France and hopefully a fifth victory for Froome and ISN is set. They head to the Criterium du Dauphiné before the Catalunya Volta and then the Grande Palais in Brittany.

"The Tokyo Olympics are also in the plans," Verbrugghe said. 'But first his federation has to select him. Besides, we need to look at the situation with regard to possible quarantine."