Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[BYOP88]

maybe Sky should send two teams, sack off Argos-Shimano or something. Someone suggest this to ASO

That is a good idea. Maybe Dave Brailsford can suggest it when he meets up with the ASO people to chat about whatever they chat about.

 

[leftover pie]

It's gonna be Sky vs Sky

"and may the best man win!"

 

[Jelantik]

That's true but Porte gets on really well with Wiggins too. Little Richie is going to be the man in the middle.

or he might just throw his hat too and said.. "I deserve to be a leader"..

 

[Ferminal]

"and may the best man win!"

Very nicely done.

 

[gooner]

A source close to Froome also told The Daily Telegraph that after seeking clarification about his position on Monday night following Wiggins’s claims that the leadership would not be decided until three days before the Tour, Froome had again been assured by Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford that he would be No 1.

The source said that Froome had been left “upset” by the latest comments and was still waiting for Sky to make some form of public assurance about his position. There was no official statement from the team yesterday, prompting Cound to tweet: “I look forward to @TeamSky clearing up this mess (ASAP) #fedup.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ot...ver-Bradley-Wiggins-Tour-de-France-claim.html

Dave seems to be still backing Froome for the leadership but it could easily be a ploy to just keep him on side for the moment. If Brailsford was to back down now and pander to Wiggins, it would be weak on his part in his position. Wiggins has put himself in this predicament when he said not long after the Tour that the Giro was his priority and that he would have been happy with just one Tour win in his career. Now if Wiggins said initially he wanted to be the first rider to do the double since Pantani, I would have no problem now with what he was saying. But do remember he also said at the time that Froome could win the race in the future and this year's route would favour his chances more of an overall victory. He can't just back down from that and all of a sudden expect to get shared leadership when Froome in the meantime has shown to be performing and relishing in the role when he has been backed fully by the team.

 

[Franklin]

[/B]
So you think Contador is stronger than Froome of today. What a fanboy ha ha I cant take you serious lol, even Contador fans no it will take a lot, if anyone can do it it's Contador but come on now lol.

Funny guy, you are absolutely missing the point, which is a direct reply to airstrteam.

1, Either we look at last year and decide Wiggo is the best.
2. We look at this year and say Froome is the strongest.

Saying that undoubtedly both are the strongest due to both reasons is eating your cake and having it too.

So according to your view of today you would 100% agree with me that Wiggo is not as strong as Contador. Seems you should be laughing at airstream, not at me.

 

[webvan]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ot...ver-Bradley-Wiggins-Tour-de-France-claim.html

Dave seems to be still backing Froome for the leadership but it could easily be a ploy to just keep him on side for the moment. If Brailsford was to back down now and pander to Wiggins, it would be weak on his part in his position. Wiggins has put himself in this predicament when he said not long after the Tour that the Giro was his priority and that he would have been happy with just one Tour win in his career. Now if Wiggins said initially he wanted to be the first rider to do the double since Pantani, I would have no problem now with what he was saying. But do remember he also said at the time that Froome could win the race in the future and this year's route would favour his chances more of an overall victory. He can't just back down from that and all of a sudden expect to get shared leadership when Froome in the meantime has shown to be performing and relishing in the role when he has been backed fully by the team.

Interesting...so DB will not be saying anything it seems...kinda blows away that crazy Cound woman and showboating Froome, no? Again, I really don't see the problem in having dual leaders, or two "protected" riders, how can Froome seriously deny that to the defending champion. Kinda shows his lack of understanding of cycling rules/"etiquette", like when makes these scenes on Toussuire or Peyragudes or taunts Peraud on CI, this is going to bite back at some point, especially if he fails in the TDF this year, for one reason or the other, and there are many reasons for things to go wrong, mechanical, fall, tactics like at T-A, etc...

It's not an end in itself to be the "sole" leader, it certainly wasn't in 86, 97 or '09, the strongest won and if he'd been the strongest overall last year he would have won too. The issue is that he's not convinced it's changed this year, especially with what BW and Kerrison are saying these days about BWs climbing abilities. In any case Froome and Cound are not getting BW off the TDF team if he wants/can to be there so they should take a pill and relax.

 

[airstream]

Sky play their double card perfectly in press. The opponents shouldn't know who they should dear more. I'm sure there is absolute clarity in the the team for the Tour

 

[IndianCyclist]

1. Keeping form this long is kinda special. It happened before (Wiggins), but it's odd to think it will last.
2. Airstream called Wiggins and Froome undoubtedly the best two GT riders based on this and last season. I have shown rather decisively that Wiggins neither has the form nor palmares to warrant that claim. Last season is a similar problem. The only time AC met Froome in a GT he crushed him. He did not say "Froome is at this moment in time the worlds best Stage rider", he specifically added GT's and last season. Does not compute



We will see. It's not yet July. Wiggins clearly isn't at peak yet and if he manages to get peak form in July he won't be a pushover. It also depends on how the competition is stacking up. You assume Froome will do the attacking, but if Ryder, Andy and/or Alberto are at their peak form there's a decent chance Sky will have to ride defensive to take them out on the TT's (Where Froome beats all three). If that happens Wiggins is in good position again.

For sure, I think Froome will be the one to beat, but we have seen in the past that it can be a complete surprise how it turns out.

i will put it this way
Mountains Contador>Froome>Wiggins
Mountains Froome+Sky train>Contador>Wiggins+Sky Train
TT Wiggins>Froome>Contador
There is no doubt with present performances as well that only Contador can dare to attack from far out. Froome relies on his train and puts in one attack at the end. But i think we are forgetting the joker in the pack- Purito. Only through misfortune and lack of planning that he lost the Vuelta 2012 to Contador otherwise he would have won it. He might work together with Contador to distance Froome.

 

[airstream]

Froome is the best climber regardless the train.

 

[thehog]

Porte and Froome are best friend's aswell.

Richie will say whatever anybody wants to hear.

He's not smart.

He wanted to work for Wiggins.

 

[wwabbit]

Personally I think it is a foregone conclusion that Sky intends to have Froome lead the Tour de France. I just can't imagine they would be so stupid to set Froome up leading and (mostly) winning all the preparation stage races and leading him on with assurances that he will be leader only to take it away from him 3 days before the tour. Wiggins may put a bit of pressure on Froome in the first ITT especially if he isn't far behind after Ax3, but that is about it.

I think the more interesting question is which position in the Skytrain will Wiggins slot in. Porte would normally be Froome's last man, but if Wiggins were to have a chance of beating Froome he will need to be the last man to minimize the time loss to Froome. On the other hand, I think Wiggins may not be as capable of covering attacks as Porte, so Porte should be the last man.

 

[JimmyFingers]

That is a good idea. Maybe Dave Brailsford can suggest it when he meets up with the ASO people to chat about whatever they chat about.

Peace in the middle east?

 

[Winterfold]

"and may the best man win!"

hehe that's exactly what i was thinking of - maybe with a blue armband

 

[Contadoraus Schlecks]

Froome is the best climber regardless the train.

Who is disputing that this is the case?

 

[element]

Dave Brailsford tends to think big and if the opportunity for the Giro Tour double presented itself, I think he might find it hard to resist.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Dave Brailsford tends to think big and if the opportunity for the Giro Tour double presented itself, I think he might find it hard to resist.

Frankly I find all the stuff about promises etc a bit far out. Sky (sponsor) is dishing out £10M or so a year. They would want maximum return.

If Wiggins is on target for the the double (and triple crown), he will be the man in focus. Sure the tactics will cover the risk along the way, but should Wiggo wear yellow after stage 17, Sky would want to find a way to make that stick until the end.

 

[airstream]

Who is disputing that this is the case?

IndianRider says that Contador>Froome>Wiggins, apparently based on Prati di Tivo. I disagree. Henao neutralized Contador's pull and to think that Henao wasn't weaker than Froome on that day would be very presumptuous.

Plus in Oman Froome dropped Contador by himself without team.

 

[webvan]

Frankly I find all the stuff about promises etc a bit far out. Sky (sponsor) is dishing out £10M or so a year. They would want maximum return.

If Wiggins is on target for the the double (and triple crown), he will be the man in focus. Sure the tactics will cover the risk along the way, but should Wiggo wear yellow after stage 17, Sky would want to find a way to make that stick until the end.

Exactly, that's what Wiggins is pretty much saying, and none of the childish crap thrown out by Froome and the Cound twitwoman is going to change any of that.

 

[movingtarget]

Exactly, that's what Wiggins is pretty much saying, and none of the childish crap thrown out by Froome and the Cound twitwoman is going to change any of that.

And do you think Froome will back down if he is in a position to win ? Been there done that. It won't happen.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

And do you think Froome will back down if he is in a position to win ? Been there done that. It won't happen.

yea, don't think many expect Froome to just lie down and that will be the challenge of the Sky management if we ever get that far.

 

[webvan]

And do you think Froome will back down if he is in a position to win ? Been there done that. It won't happen.

The road should decide (unlike what Froome and the Cound Twitwoman are currently trying to do) so if he can take off "clear" on the Alpe d'Huez, i.e. not dragging along a Delgado like Lemond was told not to in 1985, or covers an attack by a GC threat, I don't think anyone would have a problem with that because at the end of the day the objective is for a Sky rider to win the TDF, something Froome kept going on and on about last year.

I guess the only really difficult scenario would be if BW is in yellow and Froome is the last Sky rider around and a GC threat attacks...what to do then. Have Froome cover or pace him...hopefully it won't come to that, but after last year I'd say that Froome should be allowed to go.

 

[Gregory]

Perhaps Bradley is trying to learn something from his idol, Lance. In 2009 situation was similar: two leaders, super strong team, and Lance also did the Giro, like Brad is doing now! Then, all Lance's plans were based on idea that once he gets the yellow, Contador will not attack him, and the team will control the race for him. But Lance missed yellow by a couple of seconds in the early phase, and then Contador spoiled everything by attacking at Arcalis.
The issue of leadership for the Tour, also developed similarly. At the beginiing Lance was supposed to work for Alberto. I remeber how one Lance fanatic on this forum 'Jackhammer' was absolutely certain that Lance will be the last in train and dragging Alberto on the climbs. Then all the games around the team leadership stared, and come July all was unclear.
Situation seems similar to me. So if Brad is copying Lance, Chris must copy Alberto and go on attack early on, even against team orders.

 

[webvan]

Not really comparable, Lance was a lot weaker than Contador on ALL terrains, mountain and ITT, he had zero chance, even if Contador hadn't attacked on Verbier he would have won that TDF.

In theory BW is still stronger than Froome in ITTs especially since Froome seems to have lost a tiny bit there compared to previous years (if you look at the TA and Romandie ITTs)...and according to BW and Kerrisson, who knows his numbers, BW has progressed in steep climbs...where he was already pretty decent in 2012.

 

[El Pistolero]

Not really comparable, Lance was a lot weaker than Contador on ALL terrains, mountain and ITT, he had zero chance, even if Contador hadn't attacked on Verbier he would have won that TDF.

In theory BW is still stronger than Froome in ITTs especially since Froome seems to have lost a tiny bit there compared to previous years (if you look at the TA and Romandie ITTs)...and according to BW and Kerrisson, who knows his numbers, BW has progressed in steep climbs...where he was already pretty decent in 2012.

Tour 2012 had almost no hard climbs in the final and a weak field. Best climber there wasn't allowed to go all out.

A low class rider like BW doing the Giro-Tour double? Clinic right there.