Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[yaco]

Re: Re:

Hasn't needed to drop his competitors in the mountains during the last two tours.

FTFY

With all the doodoo that was flung at Sky after their dominant 1-2s at Ax-3-Domaines and Pierre St. Martin in '13 and '15 I totally understand if they want to win the race without fully releasing The Dawg. Considering the lack of TT prowess among the GC contenders Sky only needs to control the mountains and Froome has a guaranteed buffer of over a minute from the TTs alone. He doesn't need to solo the MTFs. It was obvious last year that he could have ridden away on some of the climbs if he really needed to.

You are dreaming if you think Froome could have ridden away at his leisure in 2016 - My post contains facts while your post contains fanciful opinions.

 

[jmdirt]

CF is looking solid. Even though on paper all he has to do is follow RU, RB, FA, I wonder if its not a bad idea to take some time if his legs are there. A flat/mechanical could easily eat 30 seconds in the TT.

 

[Brullnux]

Re:

CF is looking solid. Even though on paper all he has to do is follow RU, RB, FA, I wonder if its not a bad idea to take some time if his legs are there. A flat/mechanical could easily eat 30 seconds in the TT.

He'll need two or three mechanical (assuming the time gaps stay as they are) to lose to Uran or Bardet. I wonder if it is better for Sky to let the break, whatever break there will be, go and gain a lot of time so that nobody can take any bonus seconds. They are of more use to Uran and Bardet tha Froome, after all. But of course, Froome may want to win a stage.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I can't see how he should lose this race and he would, once again, be a very deserving winner. Aint nobody can come up with something that can beat him and when they do, they do not follow through.

 

[Ruby United]

Re: Re:

CF is looking solid. Even though on paper all he has to do is follow RU, RB, FA, I wonder if its not a bad idea to take some time if his legs are there. A flat/mechanical could easily eat 30 seconds in the TT.

He'll need two or three mechanical (assuming the time gaps stay as they are) to lose to Uran or Bardet. I wonder if it is better for Sky to let the break, whatever break there will be, go and gain a lot of time so that nobody can take any bonus seconds. They are of more use to Uran and Bardet tha Froome, after all. But of course, Froome may want to win a stage.

I agree with your closing statement.
The stage win is more important than risking bonus seconds.
Having said that, Sky just might not be bothered destroying themselves early on to maintain the gap.
Hopefully, AG2R will light it up tomorrow and force Froome to play his hand.

 

[silvergrenade]

Re: Re:

CF is looking solid. Even though on paper all he has to do is follow RU, RB, FA, I wonder if its not a bad idea to take some time if his legs are there. A flat/mechanical could easily eat 30 seconds in the TT.

He'll need two or three mechanical (assuming the time gaps stay as they are) to lose to Uran or Bardet. I wonder if it is better for Sky to let the break, whatever break there will be, go and gain a lot of time so that nobody can take any bonus seconds. They are of more use to Uran and Bardet tha Froome, after all. But of course, Froome may want to win a stage.

I agree with your closing statement.
The stage win is more important than risking bonus seconds.
Having said that, Sky just might not be bothered destroying themselves early on to maintain the gap.
Hopefully, AG2R will light it up tomorrow and force Froome to play his hand.

Hope so...
He's been following too much wheels.

 

[hrotha]

I think Froome is making a mistake by not trying to put any time on his rivals. Sure, he doesn't need any... if nothing unexpected happens. As things stand right now, a minor stroke of bad luck could ruin his Tour. Sure, he still has tomorrow and I actually expect him to win the stage and put at least some time on the other folks. But something could still happen to ruin tomorrow's chance.

He already had a close call and he got off lightly. I thought people would have learned from Kruijswijk.

 

[Angliru]

Re: Re:

CF is looking solid. Even though on paper all he has to do is follow RU, RB, FA, I wonder if its not a bad idea to take some time if his legs are there. A flat/mechanical could easily eat 30 seconds in the TT.

He'll need two or three mechanical (assuming the time gaps stay as they are) to lose to Uran or Bardet. I wonder if it is better for Sky to let the break, whatever break there will be, go and gain a lot of time so that nobody can take any bonus seconds. They are of more use to Uran and Bardet tha Froome, after all. But of course, Froome may want to win a stage.

I agree with your closing statement.
The stage win is more important than risking bonus seconds.
Having said that, Sky just might not be bothered destroying themselves early on to maintain the gap.
Hopefully, AG2R will light it up tomorrow and force Froome to play his hand.

Hope so...
He's been following too much wheels.

There was a saying or belief that you put time into your opponents whenever the opportunity allows and unless Froome is simply hanging on and can't gap his rivals, he's left himself in a precarious position, especially considering the multiple mishaps he's had this Tour. I would've thought that he would've been a bit more aggressive in order to create a cushion so that the itt would just be icing on the cake.

 

[TomLPC]

Froome is riding as though he still has another 3 weeks to go.

He wants to be as fresh as possible to face Nibali and King Tom(?)

 

[dacooley]

More likely, he really has no extra gear uphill which many people refer to. froome is arguably the best gc rider at dosing his effort so he would've clearly attacked if he could.

 

[DanielSong39]

He has consistently been the best and deserves to win.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Froome was in surprisingly bad form first week and a half imo. But stage 15 showed he's now coming into good form, and he handled the accelerations today with ease.

First victory of 2017 incoming tomorrow

High hopes for the Vuelta too

 

[Angliru]

Re:

He has consistently been the best and deserves to win.

With the gc as close as it is, they all "deserve" to win.

 

[DanielSong39]

Re:

Froome was in surprisingly bad form first week and a half imo. But stage 15 showed he's now coming into good form, and he handled the accelerations today with ease.

First victory of 2017 incoming tomorrow

High hopes for the Vuelta too

Landa to pull him all the way to the top, and receives a parting gift?

 

[Vasilis]

I don't think that he really can't go any faster, it's just because of the lack of summit finishes that attacking over the top is likely to be a lot of wasted energy. I think he'll want to win the stage tomorrow, Rowe and Knees can keep the break in check on the flat part and maybe they should put Henao in the break so he maybe can be useful for a change.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

He has consistently been the best and deserves to win.

Actually he's been the best in the first stage. All the other 16 stages combined he's third. He is certainly the best TTer among the contenders and that will win him Le Tour. I don't think he can drop anybody of relevance to the GC tomorrow but he is a man of endless surprises.

 

[Monstre du Cyclisme]

If Froome is victorious in his double attempt this year, he definitely should ride the Giro next year. Winning all 3 GT in a row would be a huge achievement that not many riders have done before (maybe Merckx?). He won't be able to win the Tour next year in this case but as there is one more week of rest between both races due to the world championship in soccer he might play at least a better role than Quintana this year.

He is not becoming younger and he may not have a lot of chances left to win the Giro. He should not try it too late as Armstrong did it in 2009. He is a big rider and certainly should have the Giro in his palmares. A Giro victory would be more important than a 5th Tour victory imo.

 

[deValtos]

Re:

If Froome is victorious in his double attempt this year, he definitely should ride the Giro next year. Winning all 3 GT in a row would be a huge achievement that not many riders have done before (maybe Merckx?). He won't be able to win the Tour next year in this case but as there is one more week of rest between both races due to the world championship in soccer he might play at least a better role than Quintana this year.

He is not becoming younger and he may not have a lot of chances left to win the Giro. He should not try it too late as Armstrong did it in 2009. He is a big rider and certainly should have the Giro in his palmares. A Giro victory would be more important than a 5th Tour victory imo.

A lot depends on how the Vuelta goes, Froome has unfinished business there and if he doesn't win it this year I expect him to keep trying till he can take the win. Only then might he consider the Giro.

 

[Monstre du Cyclisme]

We shouldn't take the Tour win for granted but he really has a shot at the Vuelta. Apart from Nibali I don't expect any big name contesting the Vuelta GC who is fresher than Froome. He clearly has built his season around the double so he will be well prepared.

 

[deValtos]

It's funny how Froome is just a few seconds (in GC) away from losing the TDF and making it his worst season and potentially marking a decline ... yet if he holds on to those few seconds he looks to be in the best position he's had yet to do the Tour/Vuelta double which could make it his best season. It's on quite a knife edge.

 

[Taxus4a]

Re:

I think Froome is making a mistake by not trying to put any time on his rivals. Sure, he doesn't need any... if nothing unexpected happens. As things stand right now, a minor stroke of bad luck could ruin his Tour. Sure, he still has tomorrow and I actually expect him to win the stage and put at least some time on the other folks. But something could still happen to ruin tomorrow's chance.

He already had a close call and he got off lightly. I thought people would have learned from Kruijswijk.

He cant

 

[Monstre du Cyclisme]

Yeah, he probably can't. Froome usually is never shy of gaining time. He is slightly better that his competitors but he cannot play with them. Tomorrow is the time to go all in and gain some time. But if he had the legs of 2013, he certrainly would have attacked more often rather than just following a strategy of defense. As you have already said, there is always a risk of mishap and his advantage is too little to cope with it.

 

[Parker]

Re:

If Froome is victorious in his double attempt this year, he definitely should ride the Giro next year. Winning all 3 GT in a row would be a huge achievement that not many riders have done before (maybe Merckx?). He won't be able to win the Tour next year in this case but as there is one more week of rest between both races due to the world championship in soccer he might play at least a better role than Quintana this year.

He is not becoming younger and he may not have a lot of chances left to win the Giro. He should not try it too late as Armstrong did it in 2009. He is a big rider and certainly should have the Giro in his palmares. A Giro victory would be more important than a 5th Tour victory imo.

No. He should go for the fifth while he still has a chance. I think he has one more really good Tour in him. Then the Giro can then be tackled. It's often been won by second choice riders, up and comers and those over the hill.

 

[Singer01]

No way he rides the Giro unless he has 6 TDF's. Holding the record outright matters a hell of a lot more to him (if he has half a brain) than satisfying some internet warriors who think GC palmares is incomplete without having won all 3.

Also, he must be thinking, gimme my f'ing knighthood, Brad got one and i'm much better than him, more TDF wins, not Giro wins gets him there.

 

[Katabatic]

Re: Re:

No. He should go for the fifth while he still has a chance. I think he has one more really good Tour in him. Then the Giro can then be tackled. It's often been won by second choice riders, up and comers and those over the hill.

The Giro isn't "often" won by over the hill riders. Competition aside, the parcours on the Giro are probably the hardest of any GT.

He should definitely keep racing the TDF as long as he can win the race, because TDF wins > any other GT by a healthy margin. But it would not surprise me if, once he's done being at a level where he can win TDF, he won't be able to win the Giro either.

That's just a byproduct of his late blooming career. He did not get a chance to add some of the other GTs to his palmares before he became a TDF favorite.