Chris Froome's possible mid-season move comes as sources close to his contract situation told Cycling News that the four-time Tour de France winner will remain with Team Ineos until his contract expires at the end of the season.

The news comes after weeks of speculation that Froome would make a mid-season move to Israeli startup Nation ahead of this year's Tour de France.

Froom's contract expires at the end of this year, and he was rumored to be with a number of teams, including Israeli Startup Nation, the CCC team, Bahrain McLaren, and Movistar.

Bahrain McLaren, while having the best roster of possible candidates on the list, is hampered by financial constraints related to the COVID-19 epidemic and has deferred wages for its players; the CCC team has yet to find a sponsor beyond 2020 Without one, Movistar quickly distanced itself from the high-profile move after betting its future on young players signed at the end of 2019.

Froome's position with Team Ineos is uncertain ahead of the Tour, with Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas also likely to lead the team.The 35-year-old Froome has not competed in a Grand Tour since 2018 and will not compete in the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné He is returning from a long injury layoff after crashing, but has told the media several times that he is in good shape and ready to go for his fifth and record-breaking Tour de France title.

A slow response to contract negotiations from Team Ineos opened the door for other teams to approach Froome, but at a recent training session in Izola, France, the team assured Froome that he would be part of their strategy at the Tour de France, providing leadership on three fronts He has committed to be part of the strategy at the Tour de France and to provide leadership on three fronts.

There was concern in the Froome camp that his participation in this year's Tour would be jeopardized if he decided to move to another team for 2021. However, that concern seems to have been allayed by the teams so far. The teams have not yet announced their final selections for the Tour.

The move to the Israeli Startup Nation this summer would have given Froome a clear opportunity to lead the Tour, but it also would have required Dave Brailsford's blessing and perhaps financial compensation to release Froome from his current contract ahead of schedule It would have been. In addition, the Israeli team's roster is not in a position to fully support Froome and will need to be strengthened over the winter in any case.

The end of speculation over a mid-season move does not dispel the talk over Froome's long-term future; Cyclingnews has reported that Ineos is yet to offer a new contract to the only multiple Grand Tour winner, and that Israel Startup Nation understands that discussions with Ineos have reached the stage where a counter offer from Ineos would be too late.

An announcement on the long-term future of Froom will be made in the near future.