Chris Froome has not (yet) been officially confirmed as retired from professional racing, but it has now emerged that he is already set to work for an AI training platform as a chief innovation officer.
The 40-year-old four-time Tour de France winner is currently working for the French company Vekta.
In a press release issued by the company confirming his role, there is no mention of whether Froome is retired. However, it does state that "Today, as he begins to look beyond his racing career, Froome is taking on a more active role in shaping the future of sports performance."
According to reporting by Cycling Weekly, Froome is working in a part-time role for Vekta, which describes itself as "an AI-powered training and coaching platform."
Vetka states that, as the company's chief innovation officer, Froome will be "working closely with the leadership team across product innovation, performance modelling and long-term platform strategy, helping to ensure that Vekta’s technology reflects how athletes really train, race and adapt over time."
"For me, this is about rolling up my sleeves and helping build what comes next in performance," Froome said in the same press release, "and I’m very excited to get stuck in”.
A pro since 2007 for the small Konica Minolta team before going on to be one of the most dominant stage racing pros of the 2010s, Froome last raced in the Tour de Pologne last August, before suffering a major training accident, fracturing five ribs, a collapsed lung and breaking a vertebrae amongst other injuries. He is back riding the bike, but only after a long and arduous recovery process, involving three operations.
When asked by Cyclingnews in December about his future, Froome said simply, "The last few months I've been in and out of hospitals, only getting out there just yesterday, so my focus has been on that."
"I'm not really ready to talk about my plans just yet, but when I am, I'll be sure to let everyone know."
