Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[rick james]

Only if Bertie 09 turns up

 

[Oliwright]

If you think Froome's peak was 2013 your wrong, it's right now.
Let me explain why.

Part of why people are saying Froome's peak was in the past is because he didn't win a mountain top finish like he did in 13&15, or he wasn't as dominant. However, we saw that he was clearly the best climber throughout this year, where as in the past he wasn't in the last week.
Ventoux he lost out due to the motorbike incident, Pyranees he was in the top group and in the Alps he only lost time on one climb because he was on his teammates bike.
Froome of Today would beat Froome of 13 as he is a much more rounded rider, he can deal with crosswinds, cobbles, descents and the pressure of the yellow jersey much better than before.

The 2013 Course suited him the best. 1 Long Flat TT, 2 Significant early mountain top finishes.
2015 & 2016 courses didn't suit Froome as well as previous years, but he won nevertheless.

In my opinion the level of competition was a lot lower in 2013, that it was is 15&16 as well. This is partly because other teams are catching up with Sky's inovations. Also the young riders who challenged him the most have improved.

Finally Dave B has said in an interview on the 1st rest day of the Tour that Froome is producing the best Numbers of his career in 2016.



Every year people write Froome off, 2013 loads of people were saying Contador would easily win, 2015 & 2016 most of the Journalists were saying Quintana or Nibles would win. They didn't.

Froome (31) is at his peak and he has said that he wants to carry on leading GC teams at the Tour till he's 36-38.
He isn't declining any time soon.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I bet ya Froome from 2013 was way more dominant, also throughout the season

 

[Red Rick]

2013 was definitely his best year. He's only reached that kind of level on one stage again, which was PSM last year. I don't think that necessarily means that he's declining.

 

[PremierAndrew]

I wouldn't be so sure. 2013 Froome would not have taken a minute on 25 year old Quintana on PSM. Then again, 2015 Froome couldn't TT

That combo of Froome Porte and Thomas, I still struggle to digest how ridiculous that was

 

[LaFlorecita]

He isn't declining any time soon.

Impressed by your ability to predict the future

 

[dacooley]

Re:

I wouldn't be so sure. 2013 Froome would not have taken a minute on 25 year old Quintana on PSM. Then again, 2015 Froome couldn't TT

That combo of Froome Porte and Thomas, I still struggle to digest how ridiculous that was

still not enough ridiculous to outclimb quintana in the 2015 tour. that was a more or less confort control until the alpe d'huez stage though. not that froome is unbeatable, ibut beating him in the tour much loaded with time trials is a very difficult mission.

 

[Taxus4a]

If you think Froome's peak was 2013 your wrong, it's right now.
Let me explain why.

Part of why people are saying Froome's peak was in the past is because he didn't win a mountain top finish like he did in 13&15, or he wasn't as dominant. However, we saw that he was clearly the best climber throughout this year, where as in the past he wasn't in the last week.
Ventoux he lost out due to the motorbike incident, Pyranees he was in the top group and in the Alps he only lost time on one climb because he was on his teammates bike.
Froome of Today would beat Froome of 13 as he is a much more rounded rider, he can deal with crosswinds, cobbles, descents and the pressure of the yellow jersey much better than before.

The 2013 Course suited him the best. 1 Long Flat TT, 2 Significant early mountain top finishes.
2015 & 2016 courses didn't suit Froome as well as previous years, but he won nevertheless.

In my opinion the level of competition was a lot lower in 2013, that it was is 15&16 as well. This is partly because other teams are catching up with Sky's inovations. Also the young riders who challenged him the most have improved.

Finally Dave B has said in an interview on the 1st rest day of the Tour that Froome is producing the best Numbers of his career in 2016.



Every year people write Froome off, 2013 loads of people were saying Contador would easily win, 2015 & 2016 most of the Journalists were saying Quintana or Nibles would win. They didn't.

Froome (31) is at his peak and he has said that he wants to carry on leading GC teams at the Tour till he's 36-38.
He isn't declining any time soon.

Of course Froome is peaknig now. He didnt have experience, ad nnow he is in a very good age. He has 3 year more to win le Tour.

This year Tour didnt come from the flat to a big mountain finish, so Froome didnt put big time in one stage, but he made the differece in the ITT.

I understand that for people that follow cyclinng but dont understand too much this sport is very impressive Froome puting big time in stages as Ax 3 Domaines or La Pierre, but that is just consecuence of how the route was made, and as well of the different preparation in an olimpic year.

 

[del1962]

What Chris missed in this year was a really hot day with MTF finish, this is where he is no effected as much as his rivals

 

[silvergrenade]

Looks like Froome is indeed going to do the Vuelta. He just tweeted about his season not being over yet.

 

[Taxus4a]

Re: Re:

he is not a pure climber

What?

I think Taxus means in terms of his other abilities, he doesn't just climb well he can also TT very well and is strong on the flat/crosswind stages too. Pure climbers tend to struggle in those other areas.

To climb well in a GT doesnst mean to be a pure climber, even a climber. That is 1st course of cycling. Indurain wanst a climber and he destroyed everybody in La plagne.

In the moutains is where the differece is usually made, but the differeces in the moutains are the reult of all the terrain they passed that stage ad the rest of the days.

Froome is a complete rider ad very good for stage races, as he said in 2008: (althoug just in term of results, not performances, he was getting better results in one day races)

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/froome-taking-great-strides/

The team manager looks forward to seeing his young talent develop. "He is strong in the time trial and on the climbs, in theory he is suited for stage races. He still has to improve; he is young." Froome agreed with his team manager's assessment: "The two strengths that I have are time trialling and climbing, and I prefer longer events – Grand Tours make sense. I obviously have a lot of work to do on my time trialling and climbing to reach that point."

But a pure climber as Bardet is another thing and a TT especialist as Cancellara or Tony Martin is another. Dumoulinn is not a climber, but he beated everybody in Cumbre del sol, and he won in Andorra.



http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/froome-i-could-have-done-better-in-time-trial-94512

 

[Taxus4a]

Re:

Looks like Froome is indeed going to do the Vuelta. He just tweeted about his season not being over yet.

He had always Vuelta in his plans and for that reason his spring was weaker.

Contador has not and now is riding it becouse his crash.

 

[Taxus4a]

Re: Re:

Oval rings are quite an advantage in Tours, but not really in one day races. Not a big difference, but it is something to take into account.

He is not a super especiallist anyway, as well he is not a pure climber,but in a Tour recovery and to be good in all terrains is what finally count in all the stages, so you cann climb as the best climber annd trial as the best especialist.

He did very well anyway.

I couldnt see the race, but I guess they didnt race the cobbles.. didnt they?

Can you elaborate on that part?

As far as I have read, always in spanish links, Ovar ring are better for knee annd muscle fatigue, so you note more them in a long race, not in one day. But we talk about minimal differences.

I think Froome was more afected by humidity than that, but he has been well in both races.
He reacted late last saturday.

 

[lartiste]

Re:

2013 was definitely his best year. He's only reached that kind of level on one stage again, which was PSM last year. I don't think that necessarily means that he's declining.

In my opinion Froome never dominated the Tour the way he did it this year. In past he was pretty good climber and TTer but still was not dominated the field the way he did this year. I mean this year the whole race was under his control and he shows he is complex rider. Since now his domination reminds a bit domination of LA.

 

[silvergrenade]

Hoping for a cracking ride in the Spanish Sun.
The double beckons.

 

[movingtarget]

This year's Tour bar the two accidents was made easier for him by Contador's troubles and Quintana being out of sorts, Porte's problems and so on. Too bad we did not see the full Ventoux stage as that would have given a better indication of his form. I think he will never get an easier Tour than this year because most of the major contenders had bigger problems than he did but then in 2014 it was his turn. Even with the incidents in this year's race, Froome looked more in control than previous years and his team had no rivals as Contador's team were all over the place and Astana even though they tried they did not have it. Movistar were pretty weak as well as was BMC. Sky was by far the best team with the dominant rider and Froome was only going to be upset by falls and mechanicals and they were the only times it looked in doubt but really only on the Ventoux as he recovered quickly when he fell later in the race. The only real suspense in the final few stages was the battle for the podium which never eventuated on the final mountain stage as riders preferred to hold their positions and not take risks. Bardet made his move on the previous stage and that was second place pretty much secured as well. For the majority of the race Froome looked worry free to me. The final TT showed how strong he was. Usually the last TT is a pretty good indicator of who is strong and who is starting to weaken.

 

[silvergrenade]

Great analysis by cycling quotes.com
Contador and Quintana as major rivals.
The vuelta is gonna be interesting.


Chris Froome (*****)
Since the Vuelta a Espana was moved to its current Autumn slot, no one has managed to win the Tour-Vuelta double. In fact, Carlos Sastre is the only reigning Tour de France champion who has been brave and motivated to take on another three-week tour just weeks after stepping down from the finest cycling podium. However, after a first attempt in 2015, Chris Froome has again taken on the daunting task of making history by becoming the first rider to do this double after the restructure of the grand tour calendar.

It is a remarkable turnaround of stances. When Oleg Tinkov started the debate about doing the grand tour treble, it was the general consensus that Alberto Contador was brave and innovative while Chris Froome was regarded as conservative. However, the Brit has really taken on an ambitious project in 2016. Last year he already tried the Tour-Vuelta double and after a slow start, a strong ride in stage 10 had suddenly put him on track for a great result. Unfortunately, we never got the chance to see what he could achieve as he crashed in the early part of the queen stage just two days later and a broken foot forced him to leave the race.

This year the addition of the Olympics has made his project even more audacious. As said, no one has managed to do the double since the Vuelta got its new slot on the calendar and so it is very brave for Froome to embark on a campaign that includes both grand tours and two Olympic events in less than three months. However, it has always been the plan for the Brit to try this unprecedented campaign and even though the official confirmation of his participation in Spain was delayed until the end of the Olympics – after all he had to see how well he had recovered from the two first goals – it was always part of the plan to do all three races.

The decision is also remarkable if one remembers what Froome said when he first tried the Tour-Vuelta double in 2012. Having just finished second in the Tour while riding in support for Bradley Wiggins, he was extremely keen on getting his own chance to be a leader in a grand tour. He got the opportunity in Spain where he rode strongly in the first week but he faded dramatically in the final two weeks. He ended the race in fourth but was far behind the Spanish trio of Contador, Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez and the final part of the race was a matter of pure survival. Afterwards, he made it clear that the daunting task had taught him that his body was not able to go for glory in two grand tours so close to each other. When he won the Tour less than 12 months later, he again underlined that the French grand tour would be his full focus in the foreseeable future.

However, Froome is a fierce competitor who simply loves to compete and there is no doubt that he has been inspired by his critics to try to make history. To back a Tour de France win up with a Vuelta victory will immediately enhance his status significantly as the only rider to have made that double and silence the pundits who have hailed Contador’s courage and Froome’s conservative approach. After an overall victory in the Tour and a bronze medal at the Olympics, a Vuelta win would make it one of the best seasons of any rider in this century.

When he went into the Tour de France, Froome was evidently the favourite and he fully lived up to expectations by taking a very dominant win. Being the best grand tour rider in recent years, he again stands out as the man to beat in the Vuelta but his position atop the hierarchy is a lot less obvious than it was for the French grand tour.

First of all his level of preparation has been very different from his meticulous build-up for the Tour. There has been no pre-race reconnaissance of the stages, high-altitude training camps and careful building of a peak shape for the race. Instead, it has all been about recovering for the Olympics and he has had his eyes fully on Brazil. Only in the last two weeks has he turned his attention to the Vuelta and done some real training but h it would be unfair to expect him to be at the marvelous level he had in the French grand tour.

That lack of preparation raises several questions. First of all Froome was not his usual dominant self in the Tour. In 2013, Froome was by far the best stage race rider in the world and he dominated the week-long races he did in the build-up to his first Tour de France victory. Back then, he seemed to be unbeatable but that is no longer the case. In 2014, he was set back by several health issues which meant that he never really reached peak condition before he lined up at the Criterium du Dauphiné where he was clearly the strongest rider. However, he was not at his usual level in most of his other races. He came back from injury to deliver a below-par showing in the Volta a Catalunya and even though he managed to defend his title in the Tour de Romandie he was not in his usual superior class.

Most importantly, he rode pretty poorly in the Vuelta. Of course he still managed to finish second and put up a fight, mainly in the third week, but it was not the attacking Froome. Instead, he rode his own defensive race and was very fortunate that Alberto Contador, Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez failed to agree enough to give a significant time loss on one of his many days of suffering.

His performances in the 2015 are even more noteworthy. He managed to win the Vuelta a Andalucia against a below-par Alberto Contador but the rest of the first part of his season was a disaster. In the Volta a Catalunya, he was riding worse than he has ever done since he emerged as a grand tour contender and he failed to win the Tour de Romandie. He managed to win the Criterium du Dauphiné but he was not in the same superior class as he had been when he conquered the race for the first time in 2013. In the Tour de France, he was closer to his best but he still suffered in the third week, partly due to illness.

This year his results have been even more low-key. He won the Herald Sun Tour in February but that hardly counts as a victory as it would have been a major disappointment if he hadn’t won the relatively small event. His return to Europe was a bit of a failure as he was off the pace at the Volta a Catalunya. He had hoped to return to his best at the Tour de Romandie but a puncture in the first mountain stage took him of out GC contention. He bounced back with a solid time trial and victory in the queen stage where he attacked from afar but we never got the chance to see what he could do in a direct battle with the favourites.

Froome finally got his season back on track when he won the Dauphiné where he won one of the mountain stages and proved that he was the best climber in the race. That set him up for his overall victory in the Tour where he showed new aspects of his versatile talents. Instead of making the difference on the climbs as he has done in the past, he got the win by attacking on the descent and in the crosswinds and gaining time in the time trials. For the first time ever, he failed to win a single mountaintop finish. At the same time, his Sky team controlled things so impressively that many wrote his victory down to a question of team strength more than a result of Froome’s own class.

The lack of domination in the mountains have caused some to regard the 2016 Tour as another step in the downward trend for Froome who still doesn’t seem to be at his 2013 level. However, it would probably be a big mistake to underestimate the Brit based on his performance in France. In fact, there were signs that Froome was a lot more comfortable that he had been in the past but his ambitious plans seemed to have a big impact on his approach to the race. Knowing that he had goals later in the season too, Froome seemed to be very keen to win the race without having to go too deep. All year, he has planned for his ambitious triple goal and so he has done very little racing in the spring. That allowed him to arrive in France a lot fresher than usual and his goal was to end the race less fatigued than he has been in the past where he was clearly suffering in the third week.

It was mission accomplished for Froome. As soon as he had built a comfortable lead after the first time trial, he put the handbrake on and barely made an attack. From that moment, it was all about controlling the race and he used his strong team to do so. A small crash in stage 19 briefly put him in difficulty but apart from that incident, he was never under threat. In fact, it is hard not to have the impression that he never really went into the red zone in the mountains. He dug deep in the time trials and during his two surprise attacks but on the climbs, he only made some small attacks and never went all out in a big attack to drop his rivals.

Even though he has done the Olympics in between, that approach means that Froome is probably in a much better position to try the double than he was 12 months ago. Back then, he was very tired at the end of the Tour and he had full focus on recovery in the few weeks between the two grand tours. Hence, he was far from his best level in the first part of the Vuelta. Nonetheless, his level was on the rise when he crashed out of the race. In fact, reports from the Sky camp claim that he was very confident that he was going to ride himself into red in the queen stage. Unfortunately, his crash derailed his plans.

This year Froome seems to enter the race in much better shape. He may not have been at his best in the Olympics but he was still at a very good level. He finished third in the time trial and his attack in the road race was still good enough to leave all his Tour de France rivals behind. Hence, we can’t expect him to be at the same poor level in the first week as 12 months ago and this will be important as the first uphill finishes come on stages 3 and 4 and the most important block of mountain stages comes in the second weekend.

The big challenge for Froome will be to maintain his level. Unlike last year, there are tough mountain stages throughout the entire race and this means that the winner has to be good during all three weeks. Froome can’t allow himself to fade too much in the third week and this will be a challenge. After all, this year’s Tour was the first where he didn’t show any signs of fading in the final part of the race. History shows that he doesn’t recover as well as the likes of Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador and those two riders even arrive at the Tour a lot fresher than Froome.

Nonetheless, we still believe that Froome will win the race. The distribution of mountain stages may not be in his favour but apart from that, the course suits him extremely well. There are no less than 10 summit finishes and four of them – Mirador de Ezaro, Camperona, Pena Cabarga and Alto Mas de la Costa – end on short, extremely steep climbs. History shows that Froome is usually stronger than Contador and Quintana on such climbs. Last year he delivered his best performance in a similar finish on stage 10 and in 2014, he suffered on the long climbs and excelled on the shorter, steeper ascents. He is more explosive than his two biggest rivals and so these finishes should suit him well.

The same goes for the climb of Lagos de Covadonga which has a steep first part and a flatter finale. That makes it similar to La Pierre Saint-Martin where he laid the foundations for his victory in the 2015 Tour. On such climbs, he can use his climbing skills to make a difference in the steep part and his bigger power to increase his lead in the flatter sections. The stage comes relatively early in the race where Froome should still be fresh and if he can gain some time here, he may have comfortable buffer when we get to the first rest day.

Like in the Tour, Froome is backed by a superior team which is by far the strongest. Mikel Landa and Leopold König are podium contenders in their own right and if one adds the likes of Ian Boswell, Peter Kennaugh and Michael Kwiatkowski, the level of support in the mountains will be great. If he can use his post-Tour form to build a solid advantage in the difficult first half of the race, Froome and Sky can turn into control mode in the second half and then their stranglehold will be hard to break.

Furthermore, the time trial is a huge advantage for Froome. At one point, there were questions about his TT skills. In 2014 and 2015, he was far from his usual level but with a bigger amount of time trialling in this year’s Tour, he has again worked a lot on his TT bike. That has clearly paid off as his Tour win was mainly based on his gains in the TT and at the Olympics he beat some of the biggest specialists too. The flat course may not be ideal for him when it comes to battling for the stage win but compared to all his GC rivals, it is a huge advantage. He can possible gain massive amounts of time on Quintana and Contador on that day and knowing that he will have that ace up his sleeve, he can allow himself to ride a lot more defensively in the mountains.

That’s exactly the key for Froome to win this race. Everything will depend on his ability to recover and maintain his level throughout all three weeks. He knows that this will be the main challenge so he will go into the race with the same approach as he had in the Tour. It will be all about saving energy and only make the efforts when they are really needed. In France, he proved that he masters that exercise excellently and in Spain he will try to repeat. His team is definitely strong enough to allow him to save energy whenever it’s needed and the nature of the finishing climbs suits him down to the ground. The longer team time trial and the flat TT in the third week are another two aces and this gives him every chance to win the race.

There is no doubt that Sky and Froome have done everything to make it possible for him to make history in three weeks and it seems that it will all come down to question of recovery. Will Froome be able to reach his high level for another three weeks of very mountainous racing? And more importantly, will he be able to avoid his usual drop in form in the final week where the race will be decided?

Apart from Alberto Contador, all his main rivals already have a grand tour in their legs and Nairo Quintana probably went deeper than Froome in the Tour. Hence, most of the GC contenders are on an equal footing and Valverde and Carlos Sastre have both proved that it is possible to be in podium contention in both grand tours. Of course it is a different matter to actually win the race but if anyone can do it, it has to be Froome.

 

[Ataraxus]

Re:

Great analysis by cycling quotes.com
Contador and Quintana as major rivals.
The vuelta is gonna be interesting.


Chris Froome (*****)
Since the Vuelta a Espana was moved to its current Autumn slot, no one has managed to win the Tour-Vuelta double. In fact, Carlos Sastre is the only reigning Tour de France champion who has been brave and motivated to take on another three-week tour just weeks after stepping down from the finest cycling podium. However, after a first attempt in 2015, Chris Froome has again taken on the daunting task of making history by becoming the first rider to do this double after the restructure of the grand tour calendar.

It is a remarkable turnaround of stances. When Oleg Tinkov started the debate about doing the grand tour treble, it was the general consensus that Alberto Contador was brave and innovative while Chris Froome was regarded as conservative. However, the Brit has really taken on an ambitious project in 2016. Last year he already tried the Tour-Vuelta double and after a slow start, a strong ride in stage 10 had suddenly put him on track for a great result. Unfortunately, we never got the chance to see what he could achieve as he crashed in the early part of the queen stage just two days later and a broken foot forced him to leave the race.

This year the addition of the Olympics has made his project even more audacious. As said, no one has managed to do the double since the Vuelta got its new slot on the calendar and so it is very brave for Froome to embark on a campaign that includes both grand tours and two Olympic events in less than three months. However, it has always been the plan for the Brit to try this unprecedented campaign and even though the official confirmation of his participation in Spain was delayed until the end of the Olympics – after all he had to see how well he had recovered from the two first goals – it was always part of the plan to do all three races.

The decision is also remarkable if one remembers what Froome said when he first tried the Tour-Vuelta double in 2012. Having just finished second in the Tour while riding in support for Bradley Wiggins, he was extremely keen on getting his own chance to be a leader in a grand tour. He got the opportunity in Spain where he rode strongly in the first week but he faded dramatically in the final two weeks. He ended the race in fourth but was far behind the Spanish trio of Contador, Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez and the final part of the race was a matter of pure survival. Afterwards, he made it clear that the daunting task had taught him that his body was not able to go for glory in two grand tours so close to each other. When he won the Tour less than 12 months later, he again underlined that the French grand tour would be his full focus in the foreseeable future.

However, Froome is a fierce competitor who simply loves to compete and there is no doubt that he has been inspired by his critics to try to make history. To back a Tour de France win up with a Vuelta victory will immediately enhance his status significantly as the only rider to have made that double and silence the pundits who have hailed Contador’s courage and Froome’s conservative approach. After an overall victory in the Tour and a bronze medal at the Olympics, a Vuelta win would make it one of the best seasons of any rider in this century.

When he went into the Tour de France, Froome was evidently the favourite and he fully lived up to expectations by taking a very dominant win. Being the best grand tour rider in recent years, he again stands out as the man to beat in the Vuelta but his position atop the hierarchy is a lot less obvious than it was for the French grand tour.

First of all his level of preparation has been very different from his meticulous build-up for the Tour. There has been no pre-race reconnaissance of the stages, high-altitude training camps and careful building of a peak shape for the race. Instead, it has all been about recovering for the Olympics and he has had his eyes fully on Brazil. Only in the last two weeks has he turned his attention to the Vuelta and done some real training but h it would be unfair to expect him to be at the marvelous level he had in the French grand tour.

That lack of preparation raises several questions. First of all Froome was not his usual dominant self in the Tour. In 2013, Froome was by far the best stage race rider in the world and he dominated the week-long races he did in the build-up to his first Tour de France victory. Back then, he seemed to be unbeatable but that is no longer the case. In 2014, he was set back by several health issues which meant that he never really reached peak condition before he lined up at the Criterium du Dauphiné where he was clearly the strongest rider. However, he was not at his usual level in most of his other races. He came back from injury to deliver a below-par showing in the Volta a Catalunya and even though he managed to defend his title in the Tour de Romandie he was not in his usual superior class.

Most importantly, he rode pretty poorly in the Vuelta. Of course he still managed to finish second and put up a fight, mainly in the third week, but it was not the attacking Froome. Instead, he rode his own defensive race and was very fortunate that Alberto Contador, Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez failed to agree enough to give a significant time loss on one of his many days of suffering.

His performances in the 2015 are even more noteworthy. He managed to win the Vuelta a Andalucia against a below-par Alberto Contador but the rest of the first part of his season was a disaster. In the Volta a Catalunya, he was riding worse than he has ever done since he emerged as a grand tour contender and he failed to win the Tour de Romandie. He managed to win the Criterium du Dauphiné but he was not in the same superior class as he had been when he conquered the race for the first time in 2013. In the Tour de France, he was closer to his best but he still suffered in the third week, partly due to illness.

This year his results have been even more low-key. He won the Herald Sun Tour in February but that hardly counts as a victory as it would have been a major disappointment if he hadn’t won the relatively small event. His return to Europe was a bit of a failure as he was off the pace at the Volta a Catalunya. He had hoped to return to his best at the Tour de Romandie but a puncture in the first mountain stage took him of out GC contention. He bounced back with a solid time trial and victory in the queen stage where he attacked from afar but we never got the chance to see what he could do in a direct battle with the favourites.

Froome finally got his season back on track when he won the Dauphiné where he won one of the mountain stages and proved that he was the best climber in the race. That set him up for his overall victory in the Tour where he showed new aspects of his versatile talents. Instead of making the difference on the climbs as he has done in the past, he got the win by attacking on the descent and in the crosswinds and gaining time in the time trials. For the first time ever, he failed to win a single mountaintop finish. At the same time, his Sky team controlled things so impressively that many wrote his victory down to a question of team strength more than a result of Froome’s own class.

The lack of domination in the mountains have caused some to regard the 2016 Tour as another step in the downward trend for Froome who still doesn’t seem to be at his 2013 level. However, it would probably be a big mistake to underestimate the Brit based on his performance in France. In fact, there were signs that Froome was a lot more comfortable that he had been in the past but his ambitious plans seemed to have a big impact on his approach to the race. Knowing that he had goals later in the season too, Froome seemed to be very keen to win the race without having to go too deep. All year, he has planned for his ambitious triple goal and so he has done very little racing in the spring. That allowed him to arrive in France a lot fresher than usual and his goal was to end the race less fatigued than he has been in the past where he was clearly suffering in the third week.

It was mission accomplished for Froome. As soon as he had built a comfortable lead after the first time trial, he put the handbrake on and barely made an attack. From that moment, it was all about controlling the race and he used his strong team to do so. A small crash in stage 19 briefly put him in difficulty but apart from that incident, he was never under threat. In fact, it is hard not to have the impression that he never really went into the red zone in the mountains. He dug deep in the time trials and during his two surprise attacks but on the climbs, he only made some small attacks and never went all out in a big attack to drop his rivals.

Even though he has done the Olympics in between, that approach means that Froome is probably in a much better position to try the double than he was 12 months ago. Back then, he was very tired at the end of the Tour and he had full focus on recovery in the few weeks between the two grand tours. Hence, he was far from his best level in the first part of the Vuelta. Nonetheless, his level was on the rise when he crashed out of the race. In fact, reports from the Sky camp claim that he was very confident that he was going to ride himself into red in the queen stage. Unfortunately, his crash derailed his plans.

This year Froome seems to enter the race in much better shape. He may not have been at his best in the Olympics but he was still at a very good level. He finished third in the time trial and his attack in the road race was still good enough to leave all his Tour de France rivals behind. Hence, we can’t expect him to be at the same poor level in the first week as 12 months ago and this will be important as the first uphill finishes come on stages 3 and 4 and the most important block of mountain stages comes in the second weekend.

The big challenge for Froome will be to maintain his level. Unlike last year, there are tough mountain stages throughout the entire race and this means that the winner has to be good during all three weeks. Froome can’t allow himself to fade too much in the third week and this will be a challenge. After all, this year’s Tour was the first where he didn’t show any signs of fading in the final part of the race. History shows that he doesn’t recover as well as the likes of Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador and those two riders even arrive at the Tour a lot fresher than Froome.

Nonetheless, we still believe that Froome will win the race. The distribution of mountain stages may not be in his favour but apart from that, the course suits him extremely well. There are no less than 10 summit finishes and four of them – Mirador de Ezaro, Camperona, Pena Cabarga and Alto Mas de la Costa – end on short, extremely steep climbs. History shows that Froome is usually stronger than Contador and Quintana on such climbs. Last year he delivered his best performance in a similar finish on stage 10 and in 2014, he suffered on the long climbs and excelled on the shorter, steeper ascents. He is more explosive than his two biggest rivals and so these finishes should suit him well.

The same goes for the climb of Lagos de Covadonga which has a steep first part and a flatter finale. That makes it similar to La Pierre Saint-Martin where he laid the foundations for his victory in the 2015 Tour. On such climbs, he can use his climbing skills to make a difference in the steep part and his bigger power to increase his lead in the flatter sections. The stage comes relatively early in the race where Froome should still be fresh and if he can gain some time here, he may have comfortable buffer when we get to the first rest day.

Like in the Tour, Froome is backed by a superior team which is by far the strongest. Mikel Landa and Leopold König are podium contenders in their own right and if one adds the likes of Ian Boswell, Peter Kennaugh and Michael Kwiatkowski, the level of support in the mountains will be great. If he can use his post-Tour form to build a solid advantage in the difficult first half of the race, Froome and Sky can turn into control mode in the second half and then their stranglehold will be hard to break.

Furthermore, the time trial is a huge advantage for Froome. At one point, there were questions about his TT skills. In 2014 and 2015, he was far from his usual level but with a bigger amount of time trialling in this year’s Tour, he has again worked a lot on his TT bike. That has clearly paid off as his Tour win was mainly based on his gains in the TT and at the Olympics he beat some of the biggest specialists too. The flat course may not be ideal for him when it comes to battling for the stage win but compared to all his GC rivals, it is a huge advantage. He can possible gain massive amounts of time on Quintana and Contador on that day and knowing that he will have that ace up his sleeve, he can allow himself to ride a lot more defensively in the mountains.

That’s exactly the key for Froome to win this race. Everything will depend on his ability to recover and maintain his level throughout all three weeks. He knows that this will be the main challenge so he will go into the race with the same approach as he had in the Tour. It will be all about saving energy and only make the efforts when they are really needed. In France, he proved that he masters that exercise excellently and in Spain he will try to repeat. His team is definitely strong enough to allow him to save energy whenever it’s needed and the nature of the finishing climbs suits him down to the ground. The longer team time trial and the flat TT in the third week are another two aces and this gives him every chance to win the race.

There is no doubt that Sky and Froome have done everything to make it possible for him to make history in three weeks and it seems that it will all come down to question of recovery. Will Froome be able to reach his high level for another three weeks of very mountainous racing? And more importantly, will he be able to avoid his usual drop in form in the final week where the race will be decided?

Apart from Alberto Contador, all his main rivals already have a grand tour in their legs and Nairo Quintana probably went deeper than Froome in the Tour. Hence, most of the GC contenders are on an equal footing and Valverde and Carlos Sastre have both proved that it is possible to be in podium contention in both grand tours. Of course it is a different matter to actually win the race but if anyone can do it, it has to be Froome.

The Covadonga analogy is pure BS. Especially after giving historical comparisons about the short steep climbs.
If you say "History has shown that Froome is better than his opponents in short steep climbs" you can't avoid the fact that " History has shown that Froome has ALWAYS been beaten in Covadonga"

 

[Gigs_98]

If you think Froome's peak was 2013 your wrong, it's right now.
Let me explain why.

Part of why people are saying Froome's peak was in the past is because he didn't win a mountain top finish like he did in 13&15, or he wasn't as dominant. However, we saw that he was clearly the best climber throughout this year, where as in the past he wasn't in the last week.
Ventoux he lost out due to the motorbike incident, Pyranees he was in the top group and in the Alps he only lost time on one climb because he was on his teammates bike.
Froome of Today would beat Froome of 13 as he is a much more rounded rider, he can deal with crosswinds, cobbles, descents and the pressure of the yellow jersey much better than before.

The 2013 Course suited him the best. 1 Long Flat TT, 2 Significant early mountain top finishes.
2015 & 2016 courses didn't suit Froome as well as previous years, but he won nevertheless.

In my opinion the level of competition was a lot lower in 2013, that it was is 15&16 as well. This is partly because other teams are catching up with Sky's inovations. Also the young riders who challenged him the most have improved.

Finally Dave B has said in an interview on the 1st rest day of the Tour that Froome is producing the best Numbers of his career in 2016.



Every year people write Froome off, 2013 loads of people were saying Contador would easily win, 2015 & 2016 most of the Journalists were saying Quintana or Nibles would win. They didn't.

Froome (31) is at his peak and he has said that he wants to carry on leading GC teams at the Tour till he's 36-38.
He isn't declining any time soon.

I'm pretty sure Froome's peak is already over. Yeah, he didn't have bad days in the mountains this year, but those "bad days" he had in 2013 and 2015 were days where he was beaten by one or two riders. When people talk about Froome fading in the last week of 2015 they seem to forget that he was still the 2nd strongest climber on these days. This year he had weaker rivals (btw, I don't really understand why you think his rivals this year were better), and still was never really able to prove that he was the strongest climber. Who knows what would have been if there had been a strong Quintana or a strong Contador who could have attacked from far out.
And although Froome obviously hold something back in the last week it's not like he didn't attack earlier in the race. He did all-out attacks in Arcalis and on the Ventoux but never managed to drop all his rivals. Remember 2013? There he also did one big attack in the Pyrenees and one big attack on the Ventoux, just that in 2013 he gained more than 2 minutes on everyone only with these two attacks. And besides his climbing, his TT'ing was way better back then too.

Imo one also can't really argue that he didn't reach his peak in 2013 because he is more rounded now. He might be better in crosswinds and on descents today, but that rather has something to do with experience and training. I don't think it's an indicator for someone's peak.
And finally I think what Brailsford says means absolutely nothing. He said it on the first rest day, that was when Quintana was the big favorite because nobody could imagine that Froome could be better than Quintana in the Alps. Brailsford probably feared Quintana too, and therefore said something which should make Froome look super strong. Just like Contador in 2013 who said that he had his best numbers ever. You just can't rely on stuff like that.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Last year's Vuelta was literally perfect for a Tour-Vuelta attempt. The last week was fairly easy for a 3rd week of a Vuelta and there were no 1st tier guys on top form. It's going to be harder this year, with Contador and the Olympics making it a tough task. The parcours is still ok for Froome though, so will be interesting to see how he does

 

[silvergrenade]

If you think Froome's peak was 2013 your wrong, it's right now.
Let me explain why.

Part of why people are saying Froome's peak was in the past is because he didn't win a mountain top finish like he did in 13&15, or he wasn't as dominant. However, we saw that he was clearly the best climber throughout this year, where as in the past he wasn't in the last week.
Ventoux he lost out due to the motorbike incident, Pyranees he was in the top group and in the Alps he only lost time on one climb because he was on his teammates bike.
Froome of Today would beat Froome of 13 as he is a much more rounded rider, he can deal with crosswinds, cobbles, descents and the pressure of the yellow jersey much better than before.

The 2013 Course suited him the best. 1 Long Flat TT, 2 Significant early mountain top finishes.
2015 & 2016 courses didn't suit Froome as well as previous years, but he won nevertheless.

In my opinion the level of competition was a lot lower in 2013, that it was is 15&16 as well. This is partly because other teams are catching up with Sky's inovations. Also the young riders who challenged him the most have improved.

Finally Dave B has said in an interview on the 1st rest day of the Tour that Froome is producing the best Numbers of his career in 2016.



Every year people write Froome off, 2013 loads of people were saying Contador would easily win, 2015 & 2016 most of the Journalists were saying Quintana or Nibles would win. They didn't.

Froome (31) is at his peak and he has said that he wants to carry on leading GC teams at the Tour till he's 36-38.
He isn't declining any time soon.

I'm pretty sure Froome's peak is already over. Yeah, he didn't have bad days in the mountains this year, but those "bad days" he had in 2013 and 2015 were days where he was beaten by one or two riders. When people talk about Froome fading in the last week of 2015 they seem to forget that he was still the 2nd strongest climber on these days. This year he had weaker rivals (btw, I don't really understand why you think his rivals this year were better), and still was never really able to prove that he was the strongest climber. Who knows what would have been if there had been a strong Quintana or a strong Contador who could have attacked from far out.
And although Froome obviously hold something back in the last week it's not like he didn't attack earlier in the race. He did all-out attacks in Arcalis and on the Ventoux but never managed to drop all his rivals. Remember 2013? There he also did one big attack in the Pyrenees and one big attack on the Ventoux, just that in 2013 he gained more than 2 minutes on everyone only with these two attacks. And besides his climbing, his TT'ing was way better back then too.

Imo one also can't really argue that he didn't reach his peak in 2013 because he is more rounded now. He might be better in crosswinds and on descents today, but that rather has something to do with experience and training. I don't think it's an indicator for someone's peak.
And finally I think what Brailsford says means absolutely nothing. He said it on the first rest day, that was when Quintana was the big favorite because nobody could imagine that Froome could be better than Quintana in the Alps. Brailsford probably feared Quintana too, and therefore said something which should make Froome look super strong. Just like Contador in 2013 who said that he had his best numbers ever. You just can't rely on stuff like that.

How is the peak over? In this TdF, he was the best climber in every stage. In earlier versions, he was 3rd, 4th best climber on a couple of days. His ride is very measured now. He doesn't need to dominate. Dominating would in essence lead to more doping questions and hissing and booing. Hence, he does what he needs to do. CyclingQuotes:"The lack of domination in the mountains have caused some to regard the 2016 Tour as another step in the downward trend for Froome who still doesn’t seem to be at his 2013 level. However, it would probably be a big mistake to underestimate the Brit based on his performance in France. In fact, there were signs that Froome was a lot more comfortable that he had been in the past but his ambitious plans seemed to have a big impact on his approach to the race. Knowing that he had goals later in the season too, Froome seemed to be very keen to win the race without having to go too deep. All year, he has planned for his ambitious triple goal and so he has done very little racing in the spring. That allowed him to arrive in France a lot fresher than usual and his goal was to end the race less fatigued than he has been in the past where he was clearly suffering in the third week.

It was mission accomplished for Froome. As soon as he had built a comfortable lead after the first time trial, he put the handbrake on and barely made an attack. From that moment, it was all about controlling the race and he used his strong team to do so. A small crash in stage 19 briefly put him in difficulty but apart from that incident, he was never under threat. In fact, it is hard not to have the impression that he never really went into the red zone in the mountains. He dug deep in the time trials and during his two surprise attacks but on the climbs, he only made some small attacks and never went all out in a big attack to drop his rivals."


Weaker rivals? Did you see the data? They climbed at a very high level.The climbing was better than 2015 tour.The rivals were so close together. In that sense 2014 tour was really bad. VNs rivals were so far off that their average power isnt even 400 watts. Every top 10 guy in the 16 Tour has put out more than 400. The rivals are getting better. No question about it. Even with contador nothing would have happened apart for his long range attacks. Contador was not in the condition to win, as we saw in the Dauphine. His DS and the team owners interviews would suggest the same. Their team selection also does suggest the lack of confidence in Contador.

The data would suggest that he IS producing the best numbers in 2016. He was so comfortable in every stage even with the brutal pace set by his own team.

 

[sir fly]

Froome's peak is certainly over. He can't replicate Tour performance.
He might replicate Dauphine, though. And he won't need to pay attention not to burn himself before the most important goal of the season. Should it be enough for overall victory, we'll see.

 

[silvergrenade]

Re:

Last year's Vuelta was literally perfect for a Tour-Vuelta attempt. The last week was fairly easy for a 3rd week of a Vuelta and there were no 1st tier guys on top form. It's going to be harder this year, with Contador and the Olympics making it a tough task. The parcours is still ok for Froome though, so will be interesting to see how he does

I agree with the stiff competition part. But Froome isnt gonna shy away because of it. The 2 time trials, both flat and the steep sections at the end will be an advantage to Froome. Froome went very deep last year. This year he was cruising more comfortably.

Im sure he'll go deep at Pena Cebarga. One of the most amazing stages of a GT I've seen was here in 2011 vuelta.

 

[bigcog]

Re: Re:

Last year's Vuelta was literally perfect for a Tour-Vuelta attempt. The last week was fairly easy for a 3rd week of a Vuelta and there were no 1st tier guys on top form. It's going to be harder this year, with Contador and the Olympics making it a tough task. The parcours is still ok for Froome though, so will be interesting to see how he does

I agree with the stiff competition part. But Froome isnt gonna shy away because of it. The 2 time trials, both flat and the steep sections at the end will be an advantage to Froome. Froome went very deep last year. This year he was cruising more comfortably.

Im sure he'll go deep at Pena Cebarga. One of the most amazing stages of a GT I've seen was here in 2011 vuelta.

Yep, that was one great stage

 

[movingtarget]

Even if Froome podiums it will be a great performance. I don't expect him to win and not many people do. Surely Contador can stay upright for a change and he never seems to have the same problems in the Vuelta that he has in the Tour. Be interesting to see how Quintana goes also and the riders who did the Giro. Talansky will be the fresh rider as he did not do the Giro or the Tour and usually fresh riders do well in the Vuelta but he seems to struggle in GTs these days and has the same problems as Contador. Gesink is another one that could do well but has trouble performing at his best these days. TJVG did not push himself in the second half of the Tour but only a mind reader would know how he is going to perform, With him it's usually hit or miss and more often now it seems to be miss.