Team Ineos are not 100 per cent sure Chris Froome has what it takes to win the Tour de France this year, according to technical director Carsten Jeppesen.

Froome, 35, is a four-time winner of the three-week stage race having triumphed in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

But earlier this month it was revealed the seven-time Grand Tour winner would be leaving Ineos at the end of the season to join Israel Start-Up Nation.

And while Froome will ride the Tour with Ineos for the final time when it begins on August 29, he is by no means confirmed as the leader of the team.

The Jim Ratcliffe-owned outfit also boast two more Tour champions in their ranks in 2018 champion Geraint Thomas and last year’s winner Egan Bernal.

Speaking to Denmark’s TV2 about Froome, Jeppesen said: "There is no doubt that he has put a lot of work into it. As always, Chris has been a fantastic athlete and incredibly dedicated.

"I do not believe that there's anyone who has trained as hard during this coronavirus crisis as he has.

"But I'm not 100 per cent sure that he will get so ready that he is where he needs to be to be able to win. A lot has happened since Froome won last.

"We have won the Tour with both Geraint and Egan, and Froome has grown older and has been subjected to a very, very serious crash last year."

Bernal became the youngest winner of the Tour in more than 100 years in 2019 when he won it at the age of just 22.

Ineos, previously named Team Sky, consistently employ the strategy of heading to the Tour with multiple leaders and working out who the best rider is as the race unfolds.