Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[dacooley]

i think many fans are prone to get obsessed about boring tours, specifially the 2005, 2009, 2012, 2014 editions and the fact that the giro gets much lesser marketing value upsets them even more. but i'm not thrilled about the 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013 giros from racing point of view too. in both gts scenarios can be too conservative now and again, however the tour gets much more criticism with good reason as expectations from the tour, admittedly the biggest race, are the highest, imo

 

[Walkman]

Yes, and I said thankfully not all riders are obsessed with it. Why don't you address that instead of arguing about how I decided to call the most overrated race on the planet.

I think you would be singing a different tune if your favorite rider had won the bore de france in this decade.

My opinion on the Tour has been obvious for years, not my fault you only joined the forum in 2014.

.................

Many fans like the Giro way better than the Tour, it's hardly a strange opinion. And I've always preferred the Giro. So don't even think about trying to put it down to my favorite rider, I know it's what you obsessive Sky fans love to do (boo hoo everyone hates Sky because they beat their favorite riders - no) but don't even try. Don't turn this into BikeRetard forums 2.0.

Kind of true though.

 

[ray j willings]

It would be great if next year all the main contenders raced the Giro. It would be nice to see riders going into a race riding aggressive and attacking.
I would love to see Froome race the giro and not worry about winning and not have the pressure of winning but just race each stage instead of sucking wheels until the final climb. Lets see some mano v mano racing from Sky and Froome . If he loses so what. Make racing exciting and not the bore feast Sky have made it at times. Grab a race by the bal%s and attack. If Frome wants to be a legend then he needs to starting riding like he's a legend and not a wheel sucker until the final climb. Bertie , Pantani , Armstrong. Nibali ,Valverde. Landis. Schleck. Chicken. Rolland, Ryder , Aru , Vino etc all have the bal%s to blow a race apart anytime. Froome has yet to lay it on the line in the same way. I would love to see him have go from more than just a few K's out.

 

[damian13ster]

Well, it is a job of his opponents to force him to do that. Why would he with a 3- 5 minute lead?

 

[pastronef]

Re:

Well, it is a job of his opponents to force him to do that. Why would he with a 3- 5 minute lead?

because the cyclingnewsforum asks him to

 

[ray j willings]

Come on . Even at the Vuelta when Bertie was winning he just rode tempo up the last climb "its the same every race" he was never going to beat Bertie riding like that so why not grab the race by the bal$s and go for a long one? So he got a podium but it was a boring podium and he was never a threat to Bertie. BUT ,,if he attacked a bit earlier on one of the stages ,really lay it the line who knows what would have happened? That's what I want to see. I hate riders who settle for 2nd. lay it on line go for it blow the race apart. Landis did it I reckon Froome could do it.

 

[damian13ster]

Re:

Come on . Even at the Vuelta when Bertie was winning he just rode tempo up the last climb "its the same every race" he was never going to beat Bertie riding like that so why not grab the race by the bal$s and go for a long one? So he got a podium but it was a boring podium and he was never a threat to Bertie. BUT ,,if he attacked a bit earlier on one of the stages ,really lay it the line who knows what would have happened? That's what I want to see. I hate riders who settle for 2nd. lay it on line go for it blow the race apart. Landis did it I reckon Froome could do it.

He lead all of the climbs in the third week all the way up with everyone else wheelsucking. How is that not showing an initiative? He was way off-shape so couldn't really accelerate much so he just rode highest tempo he could on all climbs.

 

[rick james]

Re:

Come on . Even at the Vuelta when Bertie was winning he just rode tempo up the last climb "its the same every race" he was never going to beat Bertie riding like that so why not grab the race by the bal$s and go for a long one? So he got a podium but it was a boring podium and he was never a threat to Bertie. BUT ,,if he attacked a bit earlier on one of the stages ,really lay it the line who knows what would have happened? That's what I want to see. I hate riders who settle for 2nd. lay it on line go for it blow the race apart. Landis did it I reckon Froome could do it.

I'd hate to see cycling through your eyes

 

[Angliru]

Re:

Well, it is a job of his opponents to force him to do that. Why would he with a 3- 5 minute lead?

It's not as if he hasn't never been in a position where he had to take a major chance to either win or at minimum, get on the podium. The situation presented itself in 2012 at the Vuelta when in the third week he dropped from podium contention, eventually finishing 10 minutes behind the over all gc leader.

 

[dacooley]

Re:

Come on . Even at the Vuelta when Bertie was winning he just rode tempo up the last climb "its the same every race" he was never going to beat Bertie riding like that so why not grab the race by the bal$s and go for a long one? So he got a podium but it was a boring podium and he was never a threat to Bertie. BUT ,,if he attacked a bit earlier on one of the stages ,really lay it the line who knows what would have happened? That's what I want to see. I hate riders who settle for 2nd. lay it on line go for it blow the race apart. Landis did it I reckon Froome could do it.

how many riders do you like then? bertie, possibly nibali. hell, of course not as he settled for the 3rd spot in the 2012 tour. who else? you might probably find a thousand reasons to dislike froome, one's mind is overly
ingenious at that point.

 

[JRanton]

Re: Re:

Well, it is a job of his opponents to force him to do that. Why would he with a 3- 5 minute lead?

It's not as if he hasn't never been in a position where he had to take a major chance to either win or at minimum, get on the podium. The situation presented itself in 2012 at the Vuelta when in the third week he dropped from podium contention, eventually finishing 10 minutes behind the over all gc leader.

He was absolutely *** in the 3rd week of that Vuelta in 2012. 1). When you're in that shape you basically can't put in a big attack early in a stage anyway. 2). The Vuelta hasn't exactly been known for it's multi climb stages in recent years, making an early attack even more unlikely.

Froome attacked at pretty much every opportunity in the third week of the 2014 Vuelta. I also remember he attacked very early on the last stage of the 2014 Dauphine which pretty much caused Contador to lose the race because all of his teammates cracked under the pressure.

This is basically something that Contador fanboys and girls cling to because Froome has embarrassed their man at the Tour in recent years.

 

[LaFlorecita]

All of Contador's teammates cracked because they were shitty climbers. It was not caused by Froome, it was the team's fault.

Contador is many times the rider Froome is so I don't have to cling to anything thank you.

 

[JRanton]

Re:

All of Contador's teammates cracked because they were shitty climbers. It was not caused by Froome, it was the team's fault.

Contador is many times the rider Froome is so I don't have to cling to anything thank you.

That doesn't change the fact that Froome attacked on the first climb of the day and it caused those admittedly pretty average Saxo climbers to crack.

Second point is up for debate. He'll be remembered as a cheat by many and Froome will end up with more Tdf's than him.

 

[dacooley]

Re:

All of Contador's teammates cracked because they were shitty climbers. It was not caused by Froome, it was the team's fault.

Contador is many times the rider Froome is so I don't have to cling to anything thank you.

how could froome win 2 tours if according to you he's not a rider, a racer, a leader?

 

[damian13ster]

Re: Re:

All of Contador's teammates cracked because they were shitty climbers. It was not caused by Froome, it was the team's fault.

Contador is many times the rider Froome is so I don't have to cling to anything thank you.

how could froome win 2 tours if according to you he's not a rider, a racer, a leader?

I think that is still denial. Does acceptance come next?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

All of Contador's teammates cracked because they were shitty climbers. It was not caused by Froome, it was the team's fault.

Contador is many times the rider Froome is so I don't have to cling to anything thank you.

how could froome win 2 tours if according to you he's not a rider, a racer, a leader?

I have no idea where I said that, please point it out.

 

[Angliru]

Re: Re:

Well, it is a job of his opponents to force him to do that. Why would he with a 3- 5 minute lead?

It's not as if he hasn't never been in a position where he had to take a major chance to either win or at minimum, get on the podium. The situation presented itself in 2012 at the Vuelta when in the third week he dropped from podium contention, eventually finishing 10 minutes behind the over all gc leader.

He was absolutely **** in the 3rd week of that Vuelta in 2012. 1). When you're in that shape you basically can't put in a big attack early in a stage anyway. 2). The Vuelta hasn't exactly been known for it's multi climb stages in recent years, making an early attack even more unlikely.

Froome attacked at pretty much every opportunity in the third week of the 2014 Vuelta. I also remember he attacked very early on the last stage of the 2014 Dauphine which pretty much caused Contador to lose the race because all of his teammates cracked under the pressure.

This is basically something that Contador fanboys and girls cling to because Froome has embarrassed their man at the Tour in recent years.

So which is it, was he too tired or was it that the parcours didn't allow for a long range attack? Stage 20 had 5 categorized climbs, so that cancels out that excuse.

It was an just observation. Why are you flying off the handle with the generalizations of fanboys and girls? Take a breath and relax.

 

[dacooley]

Re: Re:

All of Contador's teammates cracked because they were shitty climbers. It was not caused by Froome, it was the team's fault.

Contador is many times the rider Froome is so I don't have to cling to anything thank you.

how could froome win 2 tours if according to you he's not a rider, a racer, a leader?

I have no idea where I said that, please point it out.

viewtopic.php?p=1750018#p1750018

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

All of Contador's teammates cracked because they were shitty climbers. It was not caused by Froome, it was the team's fault.

Contador is many times the rider Froome is so I don't have to cling to anything thank you.

how could froome win 2 tours if according to you he's not a rider, a racer, a leader?

I have no idea where I said that, please point it out.

Wait you pulled up something I posted months ago, are you stalking me Yes, Froome is not so much a leader as Contador is, he comes across as very nervous and relies on his teammates way more than Contador. He is obviously a "rider" and a "racer", but no, he's not a real racer like Contador, who races each day like it's his last chance.

 

[dacooley]

Re: Re:

All of Contador's teammates cracked because they were shitty climbers. It was not caused by Froome, it was the team's fault.

Contador is many times the rider Froome is so I don't have to cling to anything thank you.

how could froome win 2 tours if according to you he's not a rider, a racer, a leader?

I have no idea where I said that, please point it out.

Wait you pulled up something I posted months ago, are you stalking me Yes, Froome is not so much a leader as Contador is, he comes across as very nervous and relies on his teammates way more than Contador. He is obviously a "rider" and a "racer", but no, he's not a real racer like Contador, who races each day like it's his last chance.

aye, sorry. originally i missed you point

 

[cantpedal]

Re: Re:

All of Contador's teammates cracked because they were shitty climbers. It was not caused by Froome, it was the team's fault.

Contador is many times the rider Froome is so I don't have to cling to anything thank you.

how could froome win 2 tours if according to you he's not a rider, a racer, a leader?

I have no idea where I said that, please point it out.

Wait you pulled up something I posted months ago, are you stalking me Yes, Froome is not so much a leader as Contador is, he comes across as very nervous and relies on his teammates way more than Contador. He is obviously a "rider" and a "racer", but no, he's not a real racer like Contador, who races each day like it's his last chance.

his teammates clearly think he is a leader - GTs recent interview praising him linked earlier in this thread.
TDF Stage 9 2013 (there are others) contradicts everything you try to imply about him as a racer. as for reliance on teammates or the quality of them maybe Kreuziger should have dragged AC up Vontoux faster in 2013.
For me in Terms of career AC is clearly better but in recent years Froome is clearly better. We will need to wait the end of both their careers to really judge. As a Froome fan I hope that AC puts off retirement for a few more years while he still has the potential to win any race he enters.

 

[ray j willings]

Re: Re:

Come on . Even at the Vuelta when Bertie was winning he just rode tempo up the last climb "its the same every race" he was never going to beat Bertie riding like that so why not grab the race by the bal$s and go for a long one? So he got a podium but it was a boring podium and he was never a threat to Bertie. BUT ,,if he attacked a bit earlier on one of the stages ,really lay it the line who knows what would have happened? That's what I want to see. I hate riders who settle for 2nd. lay it on line go for it blow the race apart. Landis did it I reckon Froome could do it.

He lead all of the climbs in the third week all the way up with everyone else wheelsucking. How is that not showing an initiative? He was way off-shape so couldn't really accelerate much so he just rode highest tempo he could on all climbs.

what Vuelta was you watching he never lead any climbs. what are you talking about .
He never lead out one climb just chasing wheels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU-Vsi0DqFg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jPHgLnYkI0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jPHgLnYkI0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGCS_7zBaWk

 

[ray j willings]

Re: Re:

Come on . Even at the Vuelta when Bertie was winning he just rode tempo up the last climb "its the same every race" he was never going to beat Bertie riding like that so why not grab the race by the bal$s and go for a long one? So he got a podium but it was a boring podium and he was never a threat to Bertie. BUT ,,if he attacked a bit earlier on one of the stages ,really lay it the line who knows what would have happened? That's what I want to see. I hate riders who settle for 2nd. lay it on line go for it blow the race apart. Landis did it I reckon Froome could do it.

I'd hate to see cycling through your eyes

Well that's fine . You can watch your boring wheel sucker team tactics and I will watch attacking aggressive riders who make the excitement happen and who blow the race apart.
Watching sky is like watching a pursuit race on the track round and round and for most parts boring.
I want to see if Froome is more than a 1 trick pony.

 

[djpbaltimore]

I think too much emphasis is place on winning in cycling. I can give a lot of respect when riders get the best result possible, even if it is not the top step of the podium. For example, Contador's 2015 TDF was laudable because he fought through the last week on legs that were raced to exhaustion. The same goes for Froome in the Vuelta 2014, coming back from a long injury layoff to fight for second place.

 

[SouthDowns]

Re: Re:

Come on . Even at the Vuelta when Bertie was winning he just rode tempo up the last climb "its the same every race" he was never going to beat Bertie riding like that so why not grab the race by the bal$s and go for a long one? So he got a podium but it was a boring podium and he was never a threat to Bertie. BUT ,,if he attacked a bit earlier on one of the stages ,really lay it the line who knows what would have happened? That's what I want to see. I hate riders who settle for 2nd. lay it on line go for it blow the race apart. Landis did it I reckon Froome could do it.

I'd hate to see cycling through your eyes

Well that's fine . You can watch your boring wheel sucker team tactics and I will watch attacking aggressive riders who make the excitement happen and who blow the race apart.
Watching sky is like watching a pursuit race on the track round and round and for most parts boring.
I want to see if Froome is more than a 1 trick pony.

It would be interesting to see a fully fit Froome lose a bunch'o'time early in a GT in crosswinds or getting caught behind a crash to see how he rides, the form just wasn't there in the 2014 Vuelta.

I believe Froome is largely perceived as boring because the competition hasn't been there in the tours he has won, just as I think Contador was hoping to make the Giro boring in 2015. He's certainly more punchy than Wiggins.

Praying for fully fit Contador, Quintana, Aru and Froome this year!