Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

I don't know if his climbing level of 2013 was so much better than his rivals, or because his rivals that year were simply not that good that year (very young Nairito and out of shape Alberto being his only real competition). By the time Porte finished pacing him, there were only a few riders left, and he wouldn't be paced unless he was not on good form.

Porte is probably slightly better than him uphill, but he has always been slightly better uphill, and the difference is not that large. And I don't think there's any other rider at the tour that would be better than him uphill. Maybe Quintana if he actually is better his second GT of the year.

Porte is better uphill this year, and this year only! Before, he was never in the same league as Froome. And that could also change very easy in 3 weeks time...

Porte was as good uphill as Froome in 2016. Froome never dropped Porte on a climb.

No he wasn't. Froome didn't need to drop him. In the Dauphine, month earlier, he dropped him when mattered. As I said, this is the first time, and first year, that Richie Porte seems stronger than Froome. But I doubt that will be the case when Tour ends.

Oh, and by the way, he did drop him, on stage 19 Porte finished 17 seconds behind.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re: Re:

I don't know if his climbing level of 2013 was so much better than his rivals, or because his rivals that year were simply not that good that year (very young Nairito and out of shape Alberto being his only real competition). By the time Porte finished pacing him, there were only a few riders left, and he wouldn't be paced unless he was not on good form.

Porte is probably slightly better than him uphill, but he has always been slightly better uphill, and the difference is not that large. And I don't think there's any other rider at the tour that would be better than him uphill. Maybe Quintana if he actually is better his second GT of the year.

Porte is better uphill this year, and this year only! Before, he was never in the same league as Froome. And that could also change very easy in 3 weeks time...

Porte was as good uphill as Froome in 2016. Froome never dropped Porte on a climb.

Mont Blanc

 

[silvergrenade]

Even at Andorra he was dropped a little bit at the end.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Funny how you come onto this and other riders threads and its generally normal debate, then you go onto Contador' thread and its like WW3!

 

[Netserk]

Solid start. Now watch the train strangle this race.

 

[Gloin22]

30 seconds enough to win Tour by, he should go in recovery mode already and start thinking of Vuelta

 

[Valv.Piti]

Sky intimaded and annihilated the field today and Valverde crashed, it couldn't really have gone any better. Sky will have their way in this race now Im afraid, Im pretty sure of it, Thomas is in monster shape and so is Landa reportedly.. Aint enough firepower left to threaten Sky and Froome. Shame, but probs for his ride today, that was brilliant in these tough conditions. He really is the best and most versatile GC-rider around.

 

[silvergrenade]

I would have liked Froome to have time to Porte and Quintana. Then we would have seen him decimate the race by his attacks.

 

[jsem94]

Re:

30 seconds enough to win Tour by, he should go in recovery mode already and start thinking of Vuelta

This. Then he can go nuclear next year and go for the triple, winning five GTs on the trot.

 

[RattaKuningas]

I wouldn't be surprised if Froome tries to end the race in the 5th stage already.

 

[SeriousSam]

Froome gaining more than 30 seconds in this TT and his premier superdom proving to be in world beating form isn't how I envisaged the Porte Era to start

Dawg back to odds on fav. Oh well.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Sky intimaded and annihilated the field today and Valverde crashed, it couldn't really have gone any better. Sky will have their way in this race now Im afraid, Im pretty sure of it, Thomas is in monster shape and so is Landa reportedly.. Aint enough firepower left to threaten Sky and Froome. Shame, but probs for his ride today, that was brilliant in these tough conditions. He really is the best and most versatile GC-rider around.

It seems everyone at Sky wants to win the TT ! No soft pedaling allowed !

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Froome gaining more than 30 seconds in this TT and his premier superdom proving to be in world beating form isn't how I envisaged the Porte Era to start

Dawg back to odds on fav. Oh well.

The Porte era is a just a rumor from a parallel universe....................

 

[perico]

Nice ride.

 

[bajbar]

Re:

Froome gaining more than 30 seconds in this TT and his premier superdom proving to be in world beating form isn't how I envisaged the Porte Era to start

Dawg back to odds on fav. Oh well.

Indeed. I don't know what Sky does but they always seem to be the best where it matters. I thought Froome will not risk it today. Instead he goes out and rides on the limit. Other GC men didn't want to risk it... And the 40 sec gap is there... The only hope is, that someone of them is better than Froome on the climbs - be it Porte, Contador, Aru, Quintana... I don't care. Just not another Sky parade... I will lose my mind :sad:

 

[deValtos]

Great start by Froome!

I think a significant part of that time gap was down to the fact he doesn't mind taking a couple of risks now and again.

He should continue to try and take time on the flat stages in crosswinds and defend in the mountains.

 

[IndianCyclist]

Same strategy format as the other tours. 1st mountain stage drop everybody except Porte. Porte to lose time due to some silly reason. Then everybody riding conservatively to protect their own position

 

[ppanther92]

Nobody pf the other leaders will be within 1 minute after stage 5. Sky always relies on the UsPostal approach. Destroy everyone early on and than defend with the best team. Will work again.

 

[Robert5091]

Sky did their homework - Froome can sit back and take it easy now. They'll be hoping for better weather though.

 

[JosephK]

The Froomester is gonna go full thermonuclear at the TDF. We all know that the Tour is over already -- the only question remaining is ... by how much? We should be in for a hilarious show at La Planche de Belles Filles on Wednesday. Froome is gonna go so nuclear that he will launch off the top of the hill at the finish. The race organizers will have to send the helicopters to retrieve him for the day's podium awards.

 

[miguelindurain111]

So no risks but still a good time trial. Interesting to see his climbing form...

“I went really cautiously around a lot of those corners. I went in with the mentality not to take any kind of risks. A lot of guys hit the deck today and it just wasn’t worth it. But on the straight bits I felt I was able to push quite hard. It was great to have that feeling, especially given that my time trialling this year hasn’t been up to my normal standards.

“I think we can take a lot away from that as a team. To have four guys in the top 10 just shows the strength of the team we have here.”

 

[LaFlorecita]

Well, he's in pole position. Can't see him giving this away. Unfortunately.
Not sure I believe him that he was very cautious. He must have taken more risks than the other contenders, or he was just 10 levels above them. He posted a similar time to many specialists and they surely took risks.

 

[deValtos]

To be fair considering some of the risks he was taking on that descent on the Dauphine I could sort of believe Froome that this was his version of "cautious."

 

[jilbiker]

Anyone ask why Froome went all out today. I actually have an alternate theory which may sound like a conspiracy theory but if anyone knows humans and hidden agenda, one would not dismiss it so soon.

Froome did not support DavidB in his time of crisis, he distanced himself, that is not forgotten. GThomas fully supported DavidB.
DavidB told two folks, GThomas and MikeK to do all that was possible to gain pole position today, Probably said in many coded words much like the way baseball coaches talk to their players during a game. Get the yellow jersey and then he would plan the rest of the squad to work for them to keep the yellow. As awkward as it may seem for Froome, DavidB really does not care. GThomas would also not care less, he has not hidden his ambitions for a GT especially the TDF GT, so far he has come short trying to get the GT in other non-TDF GTs.
So are we back to an Astana 2009? not really but sort off.
Froome suspected that just like Bertie knew if Lance took yellow, it would be difficult to hide the agenda. So he went all out and well..missed.
Now the fun stuff begins...lets see how it will play out. Its all theory..I have no inside track, just from my observations.

By the way, Landa is totally the wrong person to select for this tour to support Froome. Landa and MikeK have one foot at the door. Landa will ride for himself and will want to get at least one stage win. Both want to look good to bargain for the next team. When I hear Wouts was not selected, I said emhh, now thats someone who would ride his heart out for Froome.

A strong Sky in this TDF I expect, but there are a lot of personal agenda's going on. Can Froome like Bertie in 2009 weather all that and come out with the crown?...we'll see

 

[Brullnux]

A lot of that hinges on the belief that Brailsford thinks Thomas and Kwiatkowski (!) can outclimb Froome. Which they can't, at least Kwait certainly cannot. Thomas might pull out a miracle but it's unlikely, especially considering there are many other teams who want to win this year who'll likely drop Thomas.