Chris Froome is featuring pretty heavily in Tour of the Alps marketing.
He will be at the start of the five-day stage race on April 18.
He says all his injury niggles are behind him and there is no reason he cannot ramp up the intensity.
Will be interesting to see how this translates to the roads.
I bet his rivals are trembling.
Well, it is an important race for his future in pro cycling.
Of course is normal to be pesimisstic and to be sure he is done as a big GC contender, because he has been always in the last 2 and a half years at a low or medium level, with any important result, quite bad for a world tour level rider.
His last part of the last season gave the hope, for the optimistic like me, to show this year a competitive level. But according his first race, not a World Tour race, where he was one of the worst riders, it looks like any progress is done, and time pass by.
But, there are some points to doubt and to have hope about this season for him:
- This race with several short climbs and quite short kilometres long is not the best for him especially after 5 month out of competition.
- He was doing base so far in Gran Canaria, after his knee problem at the new year. this race was just thinking in the future.
- He finished the race, and he was clearly better in the last stage than he did in the first, in a group with Bettiol, Kangert, Galloping,... with 2 groups more behind.
- He has 2 kilos still to lose.
- And he did 2 days ago an impressive training of more than 8 hours...His global numbers are good, but maybe no so impressive to take conclusions...234 km 3800 m gained...29,4 km/h...but if you see in detail...onto a such long training, he did KOM in 2 km sector the main climb of the day(second in the hole climb)...above the best times of people as Pinot or Barguil there...in a longer training...
And that is something to take into account and to wait to an important progression for Tour of the Alps.
The race will have an important startlist, and his team will be strong, with people stronger than him this 2 last years, so in theory, maybe he has to work...
But I don't role out the possibility lot of people surprise about his level. Of course he is not going to be to fight for the podium now...but a top 20 if he don't have to work, or something similar to that level, will be surprising and of course a big progression from last race, and it would open the possibility to see him at his best level again this year.
I am not saying that is going to happen, but, after to be quite pesimistic his first day in Coppi Bartali, now I am moderately optimistic, and more after to ear from him he is now out of phisical problem first time in 3 years and the training he put on strava