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That's a VAM that I could almost reach on my best days if I rode the climb as a MTT, so it's pretty lame for a pro.
He's been rather agressive when he has had the legs, but that doesn't directly translate to being an entertaining rider. Partly due to his own strenght and partly due his teams, most of the time he has given an impression he is in complete control. Sometimes it has been an effective disguise helping him through weaker moments largely unscathed, but mostly he has actually had races under control.
When lacking legs, he has mostly avoided taking risk of blowing up by following attacks, instead riding at his own pace and coming back when other cannot sustain the tempo. It has been effective and smart way of riding which he has been able to afford due to his TT-ing ability, but very much risk-adverse and as such anything but entertaining.
All in all, he has had some spectactular highlights, but strongest athlete riding for the the strongest team is never a good combination for entertainment purposes. And when that rider is riding smart rather than risky while in suboptimal condition, he can hardly be considered a beacon of entertaining cycling.
When lacking legs, he has mostly avoided taking risk of blowing up by following attacks, instead riding at his own pace and coming back when other cannot sustain the tempo. It has been effective and smart way of riding which he has been able to afford due to his TT-ing ability, but very much risk-adverse and as such anything but entertaining.
All in all, he has had some spectactular highlights, but strongest athlete riding for the the strongest team is never a good combination for entertainment purposes. And when that rider is riding smart rather than risky while in suboptimal condition, he can hardly be considered a beacon of entertaining cycling.
If you were not entertained by Stage 19 of the Giro, entertainment instigated purely by one man, then you were either not watching or you are so anti Froome that you refuse to acknowledge the entertainment provided on that day.Just yesterday I watched that running part again, and I admit, I just had to laugh out loud again, it was wonderful and I thought it was great of him. That's about the only moment I can remember Froome being entertaining, though. Well, it's not even his fault alone, he does what he's supposed to do, he does not take unnecessary risks, fine. We cannot actually turn it against him he's not part of the movisopera-ensemble.
But your posts do actually sound like trolling. (I don't think you're really trolling, you just seem to be a massive fan.) For most people, I think, saying Froome is entertaining is astatement.
That was impressive. I just felt so sorry for Yates... not so much because he lost the jersey, but because of his total collapse, if he'd stayed with the other favourites it would have been a different matter.
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There was also the clinic-related stuff. At the time we weren't actually sure the result would stand.
I've never considered myself anti-Froome, but maybe there is some subconscious stuff with influence. Also I rarely rewatch old races and often mess things up in my mind, so all I can depend on is what is there in my memory and that of course is based a lot on feelings. Maybe I did not feel entertained by some stages like others because I did root for other riders and then happened what had to happen - Sky won.
It's not that simple though. The way Sky rode in Tours and to a lesser extent in other GT-s is a directly connected to the nature of their leader. Was it Wiggins, Froome or Thomas, they were all top TT-ers, who could climb with the best. As such the team could play it safe and use the power of their train to control and suffocate the race (and specially mountain stages) in case their leader didn't feel good enough to attack or just preferred to play it safe and bank on taking necessary time in a TT.
During most of the last decade all main rivals of Sky's leaders (Contador, Quintana,Nibali) have been weaker TT-ers, who rely on their climbing ability and/or tactical awareness to gain time. Only in recent years with the emergence of the likes of Dumoulin and Roglic and Ineos' own recruitment of Bernal has the landscape started to change more significantly.
Tactics employed by Sky/Ineos in the past GT-s have been inextricably linked with the type of rider their leaders are. Looking at the near future, Ineos' new guard, spearheaded by Bernal, are mostly more or less climber types for whom the TT will probably never be the place to make significant gains. The place to gain time for them will in all likelihood be the mountains, and that should, at least in theory, be good news when entertaining racing is concerned.
It´s really possible that this could happen. Jumbo Visma with Dumoulin and Roglic will have the better time trial specialists in the upcoming years. So in theory Ineos will have to attack more in the future in the mountains and they will become more the team which animates a race instead of control it.
What I see is Froome, well placed and marking Sagan; he was awake but didn't cover a gap.....he was right there. Bodnar immediately went to work while GT had the strength to bridge a gap and take proper pulls. You can see for yourself that Sagan takes pulls almost twice as long as anyone else. The credit for this is Sagan's while the good field placement benefitted an alert Froome and his teammate made sure his efforts sealed the deal. It is very exciting and one of the best Tour finishes.
Thomas also addressed that finish in his Tour book and said that it was ridiculous how good Sagan was in that run-in, where he and Froome could be proud to have five seconds on the front to then be killed by a minute-long lead by Sagan (of course that is an exaggeration).
Chris Froome leaves Ineos for Israel Start-Up Nation
Four-time Tour de France winner to leave at the end of 2020 after contract not extended
www.cyclingnews.com
Chris Froome leaves Ineos for Israel Start-Up Nation
Four-time Tour de France winner to leave at the end of 2020 after contract not extended
Not surprising after the rumours of the past few weeks. It’ll be interesting how he will be supported there next season.
ISN isn't actually allowed to announce that, are they? Or were they given a special dispensation to avoid teams falling over each other to try and secure him?
''
To be clear, ISN saying contract will only be signed on August 1 appears to put them on right side of UCI regulations, which are as follows:'' View: https://twitter.com/friebos/status/1281171925180583936?s=20
That August 1st rule is aids anyway. I wish they'd breach it just so we could scrap it once and for all.
I thought it was the other way around; that a contract might be signed at any point, but only announced after/on August 1st.
In any case having a special exception for Dawg ain't a new thing anymore...
Froome does sometimes get undeserved criticism for the way he races because of the negative race-strangling template employed by his team, but let's not completely flip this around. Froome is a guy who typically is a lot more interesting when he's racing from behind (week 3 of 2011 Vuelta, week 3 of 2016 Vuelta, 2014 Ruta del Sol, 2018 Giro), much like many GC guys, but unfortunately he's largely been racing from in front after a big show of strength at the end of week 1, with a super-strong backup squad, so people have seen much more of that Froome than the interesting one. Just look at how much more people enjoyed Contador after he stopped being the guy that could win things at will. Hopefully as he grows older and he has to win on his smarts and his race tactics rather than brute strength, we see more of the interesting Froome going forward. But "only GC contender of the last 20 years" to go on that kind of move? That's eulogising him well beyond the point of reality.
What about the Pozzato-initiated move in the 2010 Giro that led to Cuddles punching Daniele Righi because he missed the move and people like Basso and Scarponi made it across, on a flat stage? What about Contador attacking into Tropea on a repecho on a stage designated flat? I mean, just this last August we saw Nairo Quintana attacking on the flat in week 3 the day before the final climactic mountains, and winning stages by attacking on the flat run-in. Vincenzo Nibali has won Milano-Sanremo and won the Sheffield stage of the 2014 Tour on the flat section using self-same Sagan as a tactical option rather than on the ramps. "The last 20 years" also includes Robobasso and his exploits in the Danmark Rundt. Was Froome's move a smart and unexpected move that brought a bit of GC excitement to a stage not expected to provide it? Sure. But "only GC rider in the last 20 years" to try it, that's going a bit far.
Not a Froome fan at all. But I am somewhat excited to see what he can do with a less powerfull team backing him. For ISN it seems like an enormous gamble. Signing 35 year old Froome to a multi year contract alone is risky, but with the uncertainty of how he recovers (or is recovered) from his injuries...damn.
Can't wait for the sequel of the "Le Tour" blockbuster comedy Three Movistar Amigos. This time, it'll be something like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, with an international cast starring a Colombian, a Welsh and and a Kenyan.
On another note, good luck to Froomey at his new team. I have a soft spot for underdawgs.
On another note, good luck to Froomey at his new team. I have a soft spot for underdawgs.
Froome traditionally has always relied on brute strength except for a single downhill finish and a single echelon stage where his team got in him on exactly the right wheel. Even on the back foot, his attacks were formulaic.
Hard to see Ineos ditch him if they'd believe he was still a contender.
Hard to see Ineos ditch him if they'd believe he was still a contender.
Why Ineos would take him to the Tour??
There are plenty os very good gregarios to work for the last 2 winners let alone the chance that he can be, lets say, the 2o best place cyclist and generate a LOT os controversy during the Tour..
There are plenty os very good gregarios to work for the last 2 winners let alone the chance that he can be, lets say, the 2o best place cyclist and generate a LOT os controversy during the Tour..
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