Paris (AFP)

After 10 successful years at Sky, which became Ineos in 2019, Christopher Froome will leave the British team at the end of the season, which has propelled him to the top of world cycling with notably four victories on the Tour de France.

As the contract for "Froomey" comes to an end in December, Dave Brailsford, the boss of Ineos, has decided not to continue the adventure with the 35-year-old runner, his leader for almost a decade.

Next year, he will join the Israel Start-Up Nation, a newcomer to the World Tour, the highest level in world cycling.

"The Israeli team and the legendary champion will sign a long contract on August 1 which will see Froome wearing the blue and white jersey of ISN until the end of his illustrious career," the team promised in a press release.

The outcome seems logical, as the competition had become fierce in recent years within a formation often described as a steamroller. In 2018, his teammate and compatriot Geraint Thomas had been preferred to him to play the victory in the Great Loop, before the emergence in 2019 of the Colombian Egan Bernal, winner of the event at 22 years old.

"Chris has been with us from the start. He is a great champion and we have shared many memorable moments, but I think it is the right decision for the team and for Chris. He logically wishes to be the sole leader of the team in the next part of his career, which is not something we can guarantee him, "said Dave Brailsford clearly on Thursday.

The serious injury and multiple fractures following a fall in June 2019 for the native of Nairobi (Kenya), and the uncertainties surrounding his ability to regain his best level have undoubtedly accelerated the end of the cycle started at Sky in 2010.

The Briton has certainly not stopped talking about his motivation to go get a fifth Tour de France from August 29 to September 19, but he will again have a lot to do this year with Bernal and Thomas, not necessarily ready to give him up new team leadership.

- "Ten phenomenal years" -

"It has been a phenomenal ten years with the team. We have accomplished a lot together and I will always have memories. I look forward to exciting new challenges as I enter the next phase of my career, but in meanwhile, my goal is to win a fifth Tour de France with the Ineos team, "he however reacted after the announcement of the end of his collaboration with the team.

At the end of April in an interview with L'Equipe, he also expressed his dream of winning "more Tours de France than anyone".

But seeing his non-renewed contract with the most powerful team in the peloton, Froome will inevitably have to revise his ambitions downward in sport from 2021.

At 35, his best years are behind him after having won everything under the colors of Sky then Ineos. In addition to its four Tours de France (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017), Froome also won the other two Grand Tours, the Vuelta (2011, 2017) and the Giro in 2018.

His visit to Sky will also remain marked by a doping case. He was indeed tested positive for salbutamol at the end of the 18th stage of the Tour of Spain in 2017 before being laundered by the International Cycling Union (UCI) just five days before the start of the 2018 Tour de France.

This affair, as well as the suspicions surrounding the domination of the Sky team, largely contributed to blurring its image, even if Froome has always denied having used prohibited substances.

© 2020 AFP