Four-time winner Froome left out of team's Tour de France roster

Britain's four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome was on Friday left out of Israel Premier Tech's eight-rider roster for the world's biggest cycling race for a second straight year.

Canadian Michael Woods, winner of the stage on the Puy-de-Dome summit last year, is also absent from the team which will be lead by compatriot Derek Gee and Welsh rider Stevie Williams.

Gee, 26, finished third in the Criterium du Dauphine earlier this month and 28-year-old Williams won the Fleche Wallonne in April.

"I'm unbelievably excited to be lining up at my first Tour," Gee said. "It's truly a childhood dream."

Froome's absence is not really a surprise.

The 39-year-old won the Tour in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017, but has been unable to recapture his form since a serious accident on the Dauphine in 2019.

The Israel Premier Tech team for the Tour which gets underway in Florence, Italy on June 29 also includes Pascal Ackermann, Guillaume Boivin, Jakob Fuglsang, Hugo Houle, Krists Neilands and Jake Stewart.

The race gets underway in Florence, Italy, on June 29 and runs till July 21.