The Briton has competed with the Israel-Premier Tech<\/a> team for the past five seasons and was confirmed Friday as exiting the soon-to-be rebranded squad.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to take the chance to thank our departing staff for all of their hard work and, of course, the departing riders: Pascal Ackermann, Chris Froome, Riley Pickrell, Matthew Riccitello, Michael Schwarzmann, and Mike Woods,\u201d the team said in a post on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks for the memories over the last years, we look forward to seeing you in the peloton next year or wherever the next chapter takes you!\u201d<\/p>\n The team social media accounts have since gone offline, but it indicated it will soon return to those sites with a new identity.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s invasion of Gaza and resulting protests led to bike sponsor Factor bikes declaring it would not remain involved with the team unless it walked away from its current branding.<\/p>\n Premier Tech initially followed the same line but more recently said it was cutting ties altogether.<\/p>\n Froome had a major crash while training at the end of August. He fell while riding his bike close to Toulon and was airlifted to hospital. His team issued a statement at the time saying that he suffered a pneumothorax [collapsed lung], five broken ribs, and a lumbar vertebrae fracture. He underwent surgery to treat the latter.<\/p>\n His wife later revealed that he had suffered a dangerous heart injury<\/a>.<\/p>\n His contract with the team was due to end this season and with no recent update from Froome in relation to his ambitions, it seems almost certain that his racing career is over.<\/p>\n Tour dominance, then a huge crash Speaking to Velo earlier this year, Froome spoke about the possibility of continuing into 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cI think a lot will really depend on how this season goes. The chances are that this would be my last season racing, but I don\u2019t want to put a limit on that just yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to see how this season goes. Maybe I find form that I haven\u2019t had the last few years, and that might motivate me to continue even longer. But for now, I just feel grateful to still be racing my bike and still enjoying it.\u201d<\/p>\n Froome was born and grew up in Africa but spent much of 2007 racing in Europe with Team Konica Minolta. He turned pro the following season with Barloworld and was then signed to Team Sky in 2010.<\/p>\n Initially a domestique there, he stunned many, himself included, when he finished second in the 2011 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a. That was later upgraded to first when the Spaniard Juan Jos\u00e9 Cobo was retrospectively disqualified for doping.<\/p>\n
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The 2018 Giro d\u2019Italia was Chris Froome\u2019s final grand tour win (Photo: Iri Greco \/ BrakeThrough Media | brakethroughmedia.com)<\/p>\n
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Chris Froome crashed out of the UAE Tour in February, and then had a bigger fall in August (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n