Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[Bolder]

I wonder how many riders in WT and big pro teams that neither bring result nor do significant work for their leaders in races, and how many of them are not even tasked to do any of those and just be there to make up number. Some may be too young, some are in medical condition, and some must be just useless on the road.

I always wonder about this, too. But at least most are there with some kind of purpose, even if it’s just to try to get in the break of the day. Froome is literally just riding around. I do think this year has to be the end.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I hope Froome will continue to ride for another 5 or 10 years just to annoy his haters. Valverde's done that to me, so it's only fair that other people get the same treatment!

 

[tonymikejoe]

I would not be shocked if Chris Froome announces his retirement within the next month.

 

[tobydawq]

I hope Froome will continue to ride for another 5 or 10 years just to annoy his haters. Valverde's done that to me, so it's only fair that other people get the same treatment!

Valverde did it a bit better.

 

[red_flanders]

I hope Froome will continue to ride for another 5 or 10 years just to annoy his haters. Valverde's done that to me, so it's only fair that other people get the same treatment!

He’s far too irrelevant to annoy anyone. His fans on the other hand, and this thread existing on the first page of this forum? I’ll grant that I find those things fairly annoying.

 

[Taxus4a]

Ah, today wasn‘t THAT bad, was it? Remember, Romandie is just preparation. What counts will be in France, in July.

Jan (Ullrich) rode 2006’s Romandie side by side with Jorg Ludewig, in the grupetto. End of June, he had monster shape for TdF victory #2.

You cant compare....It was another era. He is not at the level now, but last year he started to be good at the very end of May...not too much conclusions of this race...he came from a big lack of race and he had some knee issues...he was helping and bad in GC. Hope tonsee him better tomorrow, with just 3 riders on the team..but anyway one of them to work for.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

He’s far too irrelevant to annoy anyone. His fans on the other hand, and this thread existing on the first page of this forum? I’ll grant that I find those things fairly annoying.

I don't know how many real/die-hard fans he has on here apart from Taxus. tonymikejoe (three first names, as Atomic Shrimp would say) appears to be a fanboy and a troll man rolled into one.

 

[Panda Claws]

Tonymikejoe is just Taxus' alt account to voice his true feelings with.

 

[Andy schleck]

He doesn't need to retire. If he still enjoys riding and get's well paid, there's no reason to retire.

 

[rallybanana]

Ah, today wasn‘t THAT bad, was it? Remember, Romandie is just preparation. What counts will be in France, in July.

Jan (Ullrich) rode 2006’s Romandie side by side with Jorg Ludewig, in the grupetto. End of June, he had monster shape for TdF victory #2.

And in 2012 Froome finished 123rd overall in Romandie...and stood on the podium in Paris in July. No need to despair yet

 

[Rackham]

I hope Froome will continue to ride for another 5 or 10 years just to annoy his haters. Valverde's done that to me, so it's only fair that other people get the same treatment!

It's the other way around, I think, i.e. his "haters" must be absolutely loving every minute of his races right now.

I mean if someone didn't like the guy when he was winning, they're going to really, really enjoy the "has Froome been dropped yet?" 2020-2023 meme worthy period of his career. And before someone mentions money as a valid justification for what he's doing, he's a 4x TdF champion (& 7 GT's in total). He can make money doing lots of things in life, whether it's in business or media.

He doesn't need to ride around getting humiliated race after race just to grow his bank account. If that's anywhere near being true, it's just... sad in a miserable sort of way. It's no way for a champion to go out. Valverde was competitive, Froome is not.

 

[gunara]

I don't know how many real/die-hard fans he has on here apart from Taxus. tonymikejoe (three first names, as Atomic Shrimp would say) appears to be a fanboy and a troll man rolled into one.

The disappearance of many Froome/Sky-project fans from this forum happened in curious rate. I mean Contador's, even Lance's fans, hang around far longer. While this thread still very much active....with mostly "wrong" posters😁

 

[Ulle97]

I feel sorry for Chris that he isn't able to produce something to cheer about. He was an outstanding racer in his prime. However, after such a bad crash and injuries it seems the light is almost out.

What must the Israel sponsors be thinking? Of course it seemed a risk when they hired him a few years ago but surely they must have expected a stage win or at least be animated in races.

Might they consider ending his contract??

 

[Unchained]

Anyone paying close attention to the stage yesterday (& not sleeping...) will have noticed Chris Froome at one point taking a small off-road shortcut to move up the peloton before the Col de la Vue des Alpes, so he was towards the front when they started the climb & by the time they reached the top he'd slid to the back of the peloton again. On the following climb he got immediately dropped.

This to me means he really cares about appearances & didn't want to get dropped too early in yesterday's stage.

Appearance can be everything to a rider like Froome..maybe Rwanda will give him big start money but other races don't have any reason to see him as a draw..promoting how TDF, World Champion, National heros will be at your race is important.. So far Froome is a complete non factor.. I my opinion he should ride like a man possessed for 75k, get announced, wave to the crowd at the start, get photos and footage of him drilling it off the front, looking like a champion if only for a pre defined short moment.. Claim a physical problem at about100k and get in the car so he can get a shower before everyone else gets there.. Most of his recent race appearances are a high tempo charity bicycle event looking..
With season starters in Australia, Middle East, nothing looks to suit Froome, he has something to give to the sport as a skinny white guy from Africa, but lingering around waiting for a miracle is sort of pitiful. He is tarnishing his legacy by finishing in the catbox repeatedly..
Maybe he needs to change his body clock and make Tour Down Under the height of his season and let others have normal schedule and shoot for gran tours..

 

[Rackham]

What must the Israel sponsors be thinking? Of course it seemed a risk when they hired him a few years ago but surely they must have expected a stage win or at least be animated in races.

Might they consider ending his contract??

I find the whole Froome situation... strange? I mean look at his palmarès & now look at how literally no one seems to care, not even his 'fans' (who used to be quite vocal on social media at least) seem to follow his races anymore. For anyone like me with a quasi ghoulish interest in where he finishes, you need to wait until PCS updates their final GC classification after a stage to find out what happened to him. It's not like his team's Twitter account is overflowing with info either.

And that's another thing, i.e. when he eventually does retire (sooner the better for his sake) literally no one is going to notice. No fanfare, no huge goodbye, nothing. A man with 4 TdF's who might as well still be the same anonymous rider he was before his transformation at Sky.

 

[gunara]

I find the whole Froome situation... strange? I mean look at his palmarès & now look at how literally no one seems to care, not even his 'fans' (who used to be quite vocal on social media at least) seem to follow his races anymore. For anyone like me with a quasi ghoulish interest in where he finishes, you need to wait until PCS updates their final GC classification after a stage to find out what happened to him. It's not like his team's Twitter account is overflowing with info either.

And that's another thing, i.e. when he eventually does retire (sooner the better for his sake) literally no one is going to notice. No fanfare, no huge goodbye, nothing. A man with 4 TdF's who might as well still be the same anonymous rider he was before his transformation at Sky.

I will guess that the future narrative in global (English language) media will be: Froome is one of or The greatest riders of his generation, some kind of Cinderella man, a 4x TdF winner who stop producing result after a horrific crash which, thanks to his big heart, can not stop him from racing competitively in a TdF big stage. A faithful assessment but with selective details and lost nuances.

About his fans... In this forum people would talk about any rider doing a remotely interesting thing, and there are riders with group of fans before scoring big results. I'm curious: did anyone talk about Froome before 2011 Vuelta here?

 

[tonymikejoe]

Did anybody talk about him here before the 2011 Vuelta?
Nobody talked about him after originally finishing second in that GT or even immediately after finishing second in the 2012 Tour de France.
This thread did not come into existence until August, 2012.
Below is the birth of the Christopher Clive Froome thread:

• Aug 25, 2012

• Add bookmark
• #1

I don't think he has a thread yet. He deserves one, I like how he rides.

 

[Berniece]

I find the whole Froome situation... strange? I mean look at his palmarès & now look at how literally no one seems to care, not even his 'fans' (who used to be quite vocal on social media at least) seem to follow his races anymore. For anyone like me with a quasi ghoulish interest in where he finishes, you need to wait until PCS updates their final GC classification after a stage to find out what happened to him. It's not like his team's Twitter account is overflowing with info either.

And that's another thing, i.e. when he eventually does retire (sooner the better for his sake) literally no one is going to notice. No fanfare, no huge goodbye, nothing. A man with 4 TdF's who might as well still be the same anonymous rider he was before his transformation at Sky.

I think that's because he isn't that interesting. His interviews were boring, he doesn't really have a personality. On top of that he won his GT's the Sky-way, and people don't really like that style of racing. Not to mention he was always so much better than his opposition so it's not as memorable as for example Contador-Schleck in 2010. At least that's how I look at him, and why I don't really care that he stops racing. I would've loved to see him win on Alpe d'Huez last year though, would be a great swan song.

 

[Taxus4a]

Did anybody talk about him here before the 2011 Vuelta?
Nobody talked about him after originally finishing second in that GT or even immediately after finishing second in the 2012 Tour de France.
This thread did not come into existence until August, 2012.
Below is the birth of the Christopher Clive Froome thread:

• Aug 25, 2012
• Add bookmark
• #1

I don't think he has a thread yet. He deserves one, I like how he rides.

I did, in an spanish forum..and there were lot of articles about Froome then, he did a real good firts Tour de France looking at his story.

 

[tonymikejoe]

Today, former US Postal Service Directeur Sportif Johan Bruyneel gives his take on what he describes as the "sad" performances of Chris Froome from 11min 10secs onwards.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB2yr1Cxp6g&list=RDCMUCtsqiJ1WTJkoj4c_SZkyBMg&start_radio=1

 

[gunara]

Did anybody talk about him here before the 2011 Vuelta?
Nobody talked about him after originally finishing second in that GT or even immediately after finishing second in the 2012 Tour de France.
This thread did not come into existence until August, 2012.
Below is the birth of the Christopher Clive Froome thread:

• Aug 25, 2012
• Add bookmark
• #1

I don't think he has a thread yet. He deserves one, I like how he rides.

People did, during that Vuelta, and even more at the next year's Tour, maybe rider's thread was just not as rampant back then. And I - being only follow cycling again for about a year - had to look up who the hell this Chris was, I had no idea.

I did, in an spanish forum..and there were lot of articles about Froome then, he did a real good firts Tour de France looking at his story.

Of course you did, we know

 

[red_flanders]

I find the whole Froome situation... strange? I mean look at his palmarès & now look at how literally no one seems to care, not even his 'fans' (who used to be quite vocal on social media at least) seem to follow his races anymore. For anyone like me with a quasi ghoulish interest in where he finishes, you need to wait until PCS updates their final GC classification after a stage to find out what happened to him. It's not like his team's Twitter account is overflowing with info either.

And that's another thing, i.e. when he eventually does retire (sooner the better for his sake) literally no one is going to notice. No fanfare, no huge goodbye, nothing. A man with 4 TdF's who might as well still be the same anonymous rider he was before his transformation at Sky.

Most everyone realizes he was and is a fraud. He'll walk quietly away with his money and his palmares. Pretty sad era for the sport.

 

[RedheadDane]

Well, Danish TV2 talked about him as early as 2009 (maybe even 2008).
In their "worst ITTs top-3", with his little "crashing into official" stunt at a World Championship.

Yeah... great early "claim to fame".

 

[tobydawq]

Most everyone realizes he was and is a fraud. He'll walk quietly away with his money and his palmares. Pretty sad era for the sport.

This makes no sense.

 

[gillan1969]

This makes no sense.

it's the only post that does make sense...