It will be ‘very difficult’ for Chris Froome to win fifth Tour away from Ineos - Eddie Merckx

34-year-old Froome, a four-time winner of the Tour, is the subject of intense speculation at the moment following comments made by team-mate Egan Bernal.

The Colombian is the defending champion of the Tour and recently told Eurosport Spain’s cycling podcast that he won’t make way to either Froome or Geraint Thomas, both recent winners of the race, this season.

"I’ve already won one Tour de France, and I’m not going to throw away an opportunity to win another Tour de France, that’s for sure," Bernal told Eurosport. "That I would sacrifice myself, being at my 100 per cent… I don’t think I’m going to do that, nor will he, nor will anyone."

That has led to reports suggesting that Froome does not want to remain at Team Ineos and would prefer to move to a team where he would have a clearer path to a fifth Tour title.

However, Merckx thinks that may not be wise.

"I'm not sure how he is, nor if he recovered completely from the accident," Merckx told La Stampa.

"I heard he wants to leave Ineos perhaps because he can't stand the internal rivalry with Bernal and Thomas.

"But the feat of winning a fifth Tour will be very difficult for him if he doesn't have a team at his side like he had during his four victories in France."

The Tour has been rescheduled to the end of August due to the coronavirus pandemic, with most of the calendar shifted about, and Merckx isn’t pleased with how the Giro d’Italia in particular has been treated.

"With eight calendar months concentrated in 90 days, some overlap was inevitable, but the Giro was not treated well. There was no respect. Some big Classics could also have been scheduled during the Tour,

"Nobody wants to deny the enormous importance of the Tour, from both an economic and media standpoint, but the other races that have made the history of cycling also deserve respect."