Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[Krzysztof_O]

Did you see JV pushing hard when Chris had a bike problem? They are scared to death of him but he'll get them...not tomorrow, in July.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Well, my sarcasm didn't translate well to text here clearly

 

[Rackham]

Did you see JV pushing hard when Chris had a bike problem? They are scared to death of him but he'll get them...not tomorrow, in July.

I noticed that yes. In fact I made the same remark as I watched the (cruel) event unfold. It was TJV revenge for the TdF 2018's final ITT.

Well, my sarcasm didn't translate well to text here clearly

I got the sarcasm but I reckon by now almost everyone understands a person who posts something like "Froome can win xyz race yada yada yada" is having a laugh.

Of course there's a number of people who do take Froome literally, i.e. hanging on his every word, believing his training 'process' & honestly, genuinely without blinking believe he can matter as a bike racer again (to varying degrees, i.e. from a fanciful top 20 at the TdF all the way to a GT win).

These are special cases who make the internet a stranger (albeit amusing) place (hint: cycling's equivalent Alice in Wonderland's Mad Hatter Tea Party).

 

[spalco]

If this forum is an indicator for the general public (questionable assumption of course), it's amusing how much interest Froome still generates despite being quite irrevelant in the sport. Maybe he's worth his salary - whatever it is, I doubt it's as high as reported - to his team after all, or who would be talking about Israel Premier Tech without him?

Even when he does nothing in a boring as *** stage in a race only the hardest core of fans seriously care about, he gets 4 new pages in this thread.

 

[SHAD0W93]

I noticed that yes. In fact I made the same remark as I watched the (cruel) event unfold. It was TJV revenge for the TdF 2018's final ITT.

What do you mean by that?

 

[Rackham]

I totally get your point of view and I totally disagree because I have my own point of view on the subject matter.
Neither point of view is factually more accurate than the other.

They are simply what they are: point of views.

When people start stating opinions as facts is when I start to cringe. Especially if it’s about what other people could/should/would think.

You can deduce all you want but the bare truth is you simply can’t tell. Full stop.

That isn’t to say: ‘don’t express your opinion’ Just keep it contained and say ‘I think such and such.. ‘

I'll agree to disagree, even on the issue of reaching conclusions & declaring them as 'fact'.

This is Chris Froome we're talking about. He's not an unknown quantity or a mystery anymore. He has baggage, i.e. ranging from a miracle transformation, holding onto a motorbike on the Mortirolo all the way to stuff which "cannot be discussed here" (& feeding some rabbits to a snake just for sh*ts & giggles).

He is what he is, warts & all. His social media presence is just an extension of his rampant disingenuousness we've all become accustomed to for a decade.

What do you mean by that?

It's a joke.

Froome in 2018 knocked Roglic off the TdF podium in the final individual time trial. For that sacrilege, he was finally punished in the Dauphiné stage this afternoon when he punctured & Jumbo pulled.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

I don't care what goes on with his social media as I don't do it (apart from this forum). What I see is a bloke who had a really bad crash and making an attempt at coming back to his former self. We all know it's gonna be nigh on impossible (some believe, some don't), but all I know is what I see on TV, he's gone from a child on a bike, to a pro rider again, little by little he's getting better. Getting back to his former self we'll just have to wait and see until he gives up. At least he's gaining more thread pages, which means Remco needs to get a move on to catch up.

 

[gunara]

Fans can take positive from anything now, you can be hyped up of how he almost top-10ed the Mercan race, or you can be proud of how often he's mentioned anywhere, because being mentioned is all that matter these days, even as the end of some disrespectful jokes for a former champion.

 

[PhiLiz]

I really, really wish this improved results convince him and some team (ISN or other, it doesn't really matter) to give it a go for a couple more years. I really look forward for some more mediocre years by the Dawg. It's a joy to watch.

 

[hfer07]

currently 76th place at the Dauphine, which is the race he's supposed to be performing at his best to get a spot on the team for the Tour ..... So unless he goes with the breakaway and somehow manages to win a stage, I don't see why he'd be discussed in the future TBH.
for the 100th time: Froome should be more than pleased to have made the deal of his life by signing a 5 year contract at the high end salary mark, well knowing his professional career ended in that horrific accident & then following by the departure of Sky/Ineos- all the above added to his age, the timing of the accident, the Plan-demic, the setbacks...... there was NO WAY he was ever going to get back to the level he was at all.......
Pro-Cycling doesn't wait for anyone

 

[StryderHells]

And Chris Froome won’t start todays stage.

 

[Zoef-Lightning]

... because of illness. Can happen to any rider. His results have been abnormally bad the last few days, it's now clear why.

But this makes it almost impossible to build up enough form for the Tour. So unless he recovers very quickly and performs his next race anyway I don't see him being selected for the Tour.

 

[Pinot's goat]

I don't really understand the people who think getting dropped with Groenewegen is his level after seeing the results in Mercan Tour and Dauphine stage 3. He's not winning any WT races anytime soon but his level was clearly improving a lot.

 

[StryderHells]

I don't really understand the people who think getting dropped with Groenewegen is his level after seeing the results in Mercan Tour and Dauphine stage 3. He's not winning any WT races anytime soon but his level was clearly improving a lot.

People think it’s his level because of exposed form, outside of a couple of okay days his level has been of a rider who gets dropped once the race heats up. He might be improving but you can’t blame people for thinking that he isn’t up to it anymore.

 

[Panda Claws]

Sandbagging masterclass

 

[Extinction]

People think it’s his level because of exposed form, outside of a couple of okay days his level has been of a rider who gets dropped once the race heats up. He might be improving but you can’t blame people for thinking that he isn’t up to it anymore.

Face it he's done.

 

[StryderHells]

Face it he's done.

Don’t disagree whatsoever, he was done once that crash happened, those injuries at his age and he was already on the decline before the crash.

 

[Savant12]

He really needed these mountain stages to show that he should go to the Tour. I don't think he's done enough to make selection.

 

[FroomeWagon]

I feel sorry for the guy. He wants to compete at th highest levels, but is only a shell of his former self. Last year, he made it through the TDF largely by riding in the Grupeto with the sprinters. I suspect he will do the same this year if selected for the team. In fairness, I bet last year he wouldn't finish the race ... and he did. I would probably make the exact same bet again this year if he does start the TDF. IMO, todays abandonment is probably more about pride and ego, than actual sickness.

I don't know who in the cycling world has his ear (maybe Brailsford), but someone should sit down with the guy and tell him 'enough is enough.' He gave the comeback an honest try, but now all he is doing is embarassing himself and his legacy.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

... because of illness. Can happen to any rider. His results have been abnormally bad the last few days, it's now clear why.

No they haven't. His results have been what we've been accustomed to for quite some time this last couple of days. It's just that it's a regression from what he had been showing a little bit before this.

 

[tonymikejoe]

Pre-crash, Chris Froome finished third at the 2018 Tour de France when chasing his fourth consecutive Grand Tour win.
That prompted Lance Armstrong to say: "This is the beginning of the end of Chris Froome at the Tour de France."
So, pre-crash someone who knows a little bit about pro cycling had written him off.

 

[Ripper]

I feel sorry for the guy. He wants to compete at th highest levels, but is only a shell of his former self. Last year, he made it through the TDF largely by riding in the Grupeto with the sprinters. I suspect he will do the same this year if selected for the team. In fairness, I bet last year he wouldn't finish the race ... and he did. I would probably make the exact same bet again this year if he does start the TDF. IMO, todays abandonment is probably more about pride and ego, than actual sickness.

I don't know who in the cycling world has his ear (maybe Brailsford), but someone should sit down with the guy and tell him 'enough is enough.' He gave the comeback an honest try, but now all he is doing is embarassing himself and his legacy.

For starters IPT could perhaps quit running the team like a retirement home and start seriously working for results. Then they could assign Froome a (realistic) role in races. Perhaps they could do that with all of their racers.

 

[Extinction]

I feel sorry for the guy. He wants to compete at th highest levels, but is only a shell of his former self. Last year, he made it through the TDF largely by riding in the Grupeto with the sprinters. I suspect he will do the same this year if selected for the team. In fairness, I bet last year he wouldn't finish the race ... and he did. I would probably make the exact same bet again this year if he does start the TDF. IMO, todays abandonment is probably more about pride and ego, than actual sickness.

I don't know who in the cycling world has his ear (maybe Brailsford), but someone should sit down with the guy and tell him 'enough is enough.' He gave the comeback an honest try, but now all he is doing is embarassing himself and his legacy.

Or he should read the last chapters of Fignon's "We were young and carefree..."

 

[Pinot's goat]

No they haven't. His results have been what we've been accustomed to for quite some time this last couple of days. It's just that it's a regression from what he had been showing a little bit before this.

Froome finished near 11th in another race in the last 3 years?

 

[OldCranky]

The big thing with Froome is his age, Talk of a three year arc from his crash taking him to a point where he is now, suposedly still building incrementally year on year with hope of finally regaining his old form, might have some basis in reality if he was 27 with potentially years ahead of him to complete that journey. But he ain't. He's 37 and nobody can outrace time. Apart from Valverde obviously.