Ineos Grenadiers announce Tour de France team - There's no spot for Froome or Thomas

I do get it, Froome's an easy one, he's not back to the level he was, totally understand, also he's buggering off to another team so zero reasons to keep him in. G I get also, if he's not up to the task (and it didn't look like he was at the Dauphine) then it's the best decision for the team to make. Carapaz to the tour gives them a better chance, however I cannot see anyone getting the better of Jumbo in the long run. 

I sincerely hope G gets his form together for the Giro, he's such a good guy to see win stuff.

However I wonder if Brailsford or Fran Millar think that anyone this side of the pond has any affinity to a Columbian.. Egan may be a great young talent but I personally could not now care less whether Ineos win anything with him as leader. He's not very enigmatic, in English anyway, and doesn't seem to have the 'something' I like my tour winners to have. Quintana is the same. I feel G would have won last year if those last few stages had played out properly. 

Aye well.. I'll be cheering on Luke Rowe as the only British bloke on that team, but I guess it'll be the Yates brothers, who I'll be hoping can get a stage or two and maybe a podium this year.

Now I'm also looking forward to the Giro a bit more

This news should come as no surprise to any of us, Gabriel Rasch slagging both Thomas and Froome off less than a week ago was a clear indicator as to what had already been decided!!! I only ever followed Sky / Inneos for Wiggins, Thomas & Froome, I have always felt that the team's habit of hoovering up talent to put into stock is NOT good for the long term development of the sport IMHO.

So dodgy Dave has done me a favour, I will be able to enjoy this year's Tdf without feeling remotely compromised. IMHO Bernal won the Tdf by default last year, and I do not see him doing much more than exposing his lack of experience leading a team this time around especially as he will very sadly not have Nico Portal to guide him as Rasch is nowhere near filling Nico's shoes.

Personally I would love to see "G" move on to a team that will respect him.

100% agree with DB on the selection. Froomey and G clearly far off their usual level  so makes sense to let them focus on the other Grand Tours. This year's team for the Tdf  is the strongest they could have picked, but weaker because of the lack of form and pedigree of these 2 guys but good to see some new riders being given a chance. 

Interesting point the BBC article mentions:
 "Ineos decided not to renew Froome's contract, feeling Froome's camp lacked the grace expected in negotiations, given the support the team had shown him during his rehabilitation following his crash a year ago..
Had things been handled differently in recent weeks, Froome could well have seen out his career at Ineos."

In my view Froomey would be better staying with Ineos to have a chance to add to his list of Grand Tours, assuming he can return to his previous levels, which at the moment remains to be seen.
Also,  "This move is rumoured to be worth €5m per year, though the reported 5-year contract is yet to be signed"

Perhaps there is some wiggle room if he changed his mind?

This is the downside of being on an all-conquering, money-bags team which has hoovered up a lot of talented people. On a lesser team, they'd probably have been on the start list, with the hope being they'd ride themselves back into form (at least back in the Jean-Marie Leblanc years, when the first week-and-a-half was generally sprint and transition days, plus a TTT). But then, if they were on such a team, they probably wouldn't have won so much in the past.

It seems like Froome might have a lot riding financially on being good enough to get in the Vuelta squad, and put in a reasonable performance.

I guess it makes some kind of sense. Clearly Froome and Thomas are slightly undercooked just now and owing to the compressed nature of the year, recovery from each grand tour is going to be limited. So Ineos were always going to need 3 leaders, one for each grand tour, so putting all three in the TdF was always unlikely to happen. I expected Carapaz to go for the Giro though but with Thomas out of form a fall back leader was needed for the TdF. If Thomas had shown better form he would have been in the TdF and as no injury is acknowledged then he only has himself to blame and will be bitterly disappointed. Look out for a transfer here perhaps?

I'm almost more surprised by Carapaz's inclusion, I'd have expected him to have been going to the Giro to defend his title and continue as a team leader, unless he's thinking there's a decent chance at a podioum for himself as well?

Or Maybe he's bought into the Ineos way of doing things and knows that he's paid to do what is asked of him regardless of his ambition?

Not really a surprise given both look undercooked in the three races just gone. However, class is permanent, form is temporary so giving them a bit more outdoor training time and  thereby some clever motivation, to go in the Vuelta and Giro , seems a smart move.

Team Ineos showing that they are completely focussed on results and have no room for sentiment. Which since they are a business, is what it is all about.

But I'll certainly miss watching Froome and G in the Tour De France this year though.