Chris Froome was not selected to represent Israel Premier Tech in the Tour de France, with Michael Woods, Dylan Theuns, Simon Clark, Hugo Woolf and Corbin Strong preferred as the team looking for stage wins on all terrain during the three weeks of racing. The teams were.

Froome won the Tour de France four times between 2013 and 2017, but turned 38 in May. He overcame a tendon problem in April and attended a pre-Tour high-altitude camp, confident he could still challenge for a stage win in the race.

Israel Premier Tech's team management did not, explaining the selection decision without mentioning Froome.

"The team selection for this year's Tour de France was a difficult decision, but we believe we have chosen the eight riders best suited to achieve our performance goals," said team manager Kjell Carlstrom.

"The fact that we had to look at a long list and make a difficult decision shows the depth and strength of our roster.

We carefully considered the roles we needed to play in our quest for a stage win and chose our eight riders accordingly. Clark and Houle won a stage at last year's Tour, and the team continued their aggressive racing at the Giro d'Italia.

Israel Premier Tech hopes that Woods, Tuns, Clark Houle, and Strong will continue this approach. Nick Schultz, Krisz Neilands, and Guillaume Boivin are also in the top eight.

"We have brought a strong team that is capable of aggressive racing with the main goal of winning a stage," explained coach Rick Verbrugghe.

"We all know how difficult it is to win a stage in the Tour, but I believe each of the eight riders selected has what it takes to win this race.

"I want to see the team race with the same attitude and enthusiasm as they did in this year's Giro d'Italia. If we can keep this up and be resourceful, I believe we can have a great race."

Woods won La Route d'Occitanie last week and hopes to keep the momentum going in the Tour de France. He could take the yellow jersey, especially on a hilly stage in the Basque Country in the opening week.

"This area has two stage wins in the Vuelta a España. I really enjoy racing in this area," Woods said. [I want to race as aggressively as possible, inspired by my Ottawa teammate Derek Gee. Winning La Route d'Occitanie gave me a lot of confidence. I am really motivated going into the race! I am very excited about this year's Tour de France."

Israeli premier techs for the Tour de France (July 1-23): Guillaume Boivin (Canada), Simon Clark (Australia), Hugo Wool (Canada), Krist Neilands (Latvia), Nick Schultz (Australia), Corbin Strong (New Zealand), Dylan Theuns (Belgium), Michael Woods (Canada).