Chris Froome downplays war of words with team owner, claims criticism of bike set-up and performances "blown out of proportion"

After months of public back and forth about mechanical issues, bike fit struggles, Tour de France selection and poor performances, Chris Froome has downplayed his apparent disagreements with Sylvan Adams, the co-owner of Israel Premier-Tech who has branded the four-time Tour de France winner "absolutely not value for money" and pushed back on his rider's bike fit claims.

Froome has had plenty to say about his team this year, saying he felt "let down" after being omitted from the Tour team in July, and that he had suffered from "frustrating" equipment issues. Then, last month, he spoke about his Factor team bike being "centimetres" apart from his Team Sky days due to "oversight".

> Not so marginal losses: Chris Froome reveals recent bike set-up was "centimetres" apart from Team Sky days due to "oversight"

Adams has not taken kindly to the 38-year-old's public comments, responding with his own assessment of Froome's problems, stating he is "absolutely not value for money" and more recently saying "he can talk about his bike position until the cows come home" before questioning the excuse.

Now, speaking to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Froome has insisted the situation has been "blown out of proportion" and "there aren't problems between us".

While some might ask why it has taken almost half a year for this to go on the record, Froome said he talks with his boss "a lot" and suggested it is "easy to get the wrong idea".

"I actually talk with Sylvan a lot," he said. "But I understand the question. It's easy to get the wrong idea when certain comments emerge in the media. Honestly, a lot of what he said has been blown out of proportion. But the reality is that we're quite close. There aren't problems between us."

Just last month Froome was speaking out about "very big discrepancies" between his position on his Israel Premier-Tech Factor and his Team Sky-era Pinarello, something he believes has been the source of the lower back pain that has blighted his longer races.

"At first I thought it was age starting to catch up with me but then I started questioning my position actually on the bike and then started comparing it," he told Cyclingnews.

"I had one of my old bikes from Team Sky/Ineos days so I was able to compare the position on the two different bikes. I found that my reach, so from saddle to the handlebars, was over three centimetres of difference between the two bikes, longer on the current bike.

"I took my old bike and went to a specialist and found very big discrepancies between my positions. But now we've made some big changes, more than centimetres in terms of saddle height, in terms of the reach, it's really a lot, we're not talking millimetres."

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Adams responded on the Radio Cycling podcast, arguing "he can talk about his bike position until the cows come home – that's still not going to earn him a position on a Grand Tour team, his legs will have to do that".

"Does it sound logical that somebody who was winning seven Grand Tours, including four Tours de France, is claiming that his saddle position is off by a centimetre, or whatever he's saying?" Adams asked.

"Does that sound credible for a guy who's getting dropped, not even on the last climbs of races, but on the early climbs of races? That's for the cycling public to judge."

In July, Adams suggested Froome's future with the team may be resigned to the role of "pedestrian domestique" and said he has not represented "value for money" since joining the team on a hefty salary in 2021.

Adams said: "He's supposed to be our leader at the Tour de France and he's not even here, so no, I couldn't say he's value for money, no."

Those comments came in response to Froome uploading a video on his YouTube channel saying he felt "let down" by his omission from the team's Tour de France line-up.

Froome suggested he was "on track" and "hit all my goals in terms of reaching race weight" but had suffered from untimely mechanicals and equipment issues at the races leading up to the selection decision.

He has stated his desire to return to the Tour in 2024, his last appearance in 2022 seeing his race-best result of third on the stage to Alpe d'Huez won by Tom Pidcock. Froome abandoned while in 26th place on GC, before stage 18, having tested positive for Covid.