Chris Froome's only target as he continues to recover from serious injuries suffered during the Criterium de Dauphine is to take part in the 2020 Tour de France.
Four-time champion Froome sustained fractures to his right femur, elbow and ribs during a high-speed crash in June.
The Team INEOS rider was immediately ruled out of the Tour de France, which was won by his team-mate Egan Bernal.
In his first interview since the crash, Froome - who has been doing up to six hours of physio work per day following surgery and believes he is "incredibly lucky" - outlined his desire to return in time for next season's Grand Depart, saying messages of support he has received only motivate him further.
"Throughout the Tour de France, people [were] standing on the side of mountains, holding 'get well' messages for me," Froome said in a video released by Team INEOS.
"It has been amazing and really motivational for me to see how much I've been missed and motivating me to want to get back there in the future.
"The only goal I have is to get back to the Tour de France next year. The underlying goal is to get to the start of the Tour in 2020 and to be in a similar or better position than I was this year. That's what is driving me at the moment.
"As soon as my injuries were fully explained to me – that's when I took onboard the full extent of them. I could barely even breathe after my surgery because of the damage, my broken ribs and sternum.
"I was coughing up blood and had to be helped to breathe. It was scary after the operation, and just felt how hopeless I was lying in the bed. That was hard to come to terms to.
"The news from the surgeon when he told me I could make a 100 per cent recovery was all I wanted to hear, and from that point on everything was so positive. I was incredibly lucky not to have been more seriously injured."
Froome suffered the injuries while on a recon ride ahead of a time trial in the Criterium, and revealed he has little recollection of the crash.
"It was a really gusty day, but I was excited about the race, testing out my legs ahead of the Tour and showing where I was at form-wise, and it was the first big test for me," said Froome, who missed this year's Giro d'Italia in order to prepare for the Tour de France.
"Basically, what I understand is there was a perfectly straight bit of road, slightly downhill so I was going at a fair bit of speed and I went to go and clear my nostrils and I was also going past some buildings at the same time.
"The wind funnelled through those buildings and took my front wheel. I tried to hold it up and ended up veering off the road into a wall at high speed. I think it was just one of those freak accidents.
"I think one of my first questions was, 'Am I going to be alright for the Tour?' and they very quickly put that out of my mind. In those first moments was when I really took onboard that I wasn't going to be racing in the Tour de France, it really hit home."
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