Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[Rackham]

Things are really heating up regarding the Chris Froome/Israel Premier Tech/Sylvan Adams relationship.
Froome is now replying to comments on his latest youtube video in which he vowed he was in good shape for the Tour de France.
Here are some responses below from the man himself :


@chris-froome

10 hours ago
There are so many external factors hindering my progress (not just those mentioned in this video) so put yourself in my position. Would you not want to know how far you could go without all of these issues getting in the way? I need some good luck, I’m not scared of the hard work, and I’m more determined than ever.



Yes, exactly! I wanted to race Tour de Suisse but the performance team decided to put me on the other races.



@chris-froome

12 hours ago
The weight is a big factor. In terms of performance my coach said I was on track with building towards the tour. Unfortunately the head of performance didn’t discuss this with my coach and made his decision without our input. So they looked purely at what happened on the road which was hampered by the bad luck.




@chris-froome

10 hours ago
No issues with my brakes this time around , it was something getting jammed in the cranks at the Ventoux Challenge

The spin is incredible, i.e. with the underlying messaging being "If I'd raced the Tour de Suisse & not had mechanical issues in other races, I could have shown I was ready for the one race which suits me: the Tour". Froome is operating a PR machine which suggests he's physically a Tour de France specialist (that's where he has his peak weight/power ratio) & that constant issues have prevented him from seeing how far he can go. The implication is also that he's better than some of the riders in the IPT Tour selection as well.

All of the above in 2023, 3 years into his contract, when he struggles to make top 50 of any stage race he's in & when in his best result (last year's TdF) was still sitting 1 hour 25 minutes down before his DNF. He doesn't know how go stage hunting, he doesn't ride domestique well at all, he can't filter breakaways & he's probably not a very good bottle carrier either. And he most definitely is not a GC rider anymore (which is the 'thing' IPT signed him for).

I know people are heavily criticising Adams for the obvious mistake of signing him on that contract (it seemed whacko at the time when reading about the numbers involved) but come on, i.e. the only peak Froomey has hit here is peak conman. This is straight-up industrialized dishonesty from Froome & his camp (agent, publicist, wife etc.).

Personally I think it's a totally hilarious way for a very strange (almost like a fish out of water in pro cycling) rider to finish his odd career (almost as strange as his riding style), but let's call a spade a spade: he's burned down his name over the last 3, 4 years just for some money. His contract & performance came at a price, i.e. the guy paying his wages doesn't like him anymore & the team he relies on to put him in races (& give him exposure for his product placements) won't start him in major races anymore either.

And his team can & will make his public life miserable from here on if he continues.

 

[Lequack]

The only question remains: can he win the Czech Tour? There he will meet his big rival from Tour of Rwanda, Henok Mulubrhan.

It's big news to have the Tour winner come to your town.

Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome at the Czech Tour!

One of the most famous riders in cycling history, Chris Froome, will be racing in the Czech Tour, the biggest stage race in the Czech Republic. The…

www.czechtour.com

 

[Peter von]

The only question remains: can he win the Czech Tour? There he will meet his big rival from Tour of Rwanda, Henok Mulubrhan.

It's big news to have the Tour winner come to your town.

Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome at the Czech Tour!

One of the most famous riders in cycling history, Chris Froome, will be racing in the Czech Tour, the biggest stage race in the Czech Republic. The…

www.czechtour.com

would be first win since the crash non?

 

[meat puppet]

In before taxus' triumphant analysis of the looming victory.

 

[Rackham]

@WayChuangAng​

How are you going to TdF if your contract expires this year?


@chris-froome
42 minutes ago
It doesn’t. I’m contracted until the end of 2025.

Oh man, he's totally taking the 2 year extension isn't he? Ha ha

This ride is about to get wild. I bet Adams is going to deploy the full Lefévère roadbook on "how to roast your own rider in public".

 

[rallybanana]

would be first win since the crash non?

His last win was on 27th May 2018. If you go back to page 528 of this thread you will see some nice photos of the occasion.

 

[gunara]

Oh man, he's totally taking the 2 year extension isn't he? Ha ha

Winston Bogarde style

 

[ice&fire]

The only question remains: can he win the Czech Tour? There he will meet his big rival from Tour of Rwanda, Henok Mulubrhan.

It's big news to have the Tour winner come to your town.

Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome at the Czech Tour!

One of the most famous riders in cycling history, Chris Froome, will be racing in the Czech Tour, the biggest stage race in the Czech Republic. The…

www.czechtour.com

A 4xTour winner came to my home town for an early season 1-day race and it was huge. Unlike Froome, he ended that season winning the Giro-Tour double.

 

[rallybanana]

Winston Bogarde style

This quote from his wikipedia page is quite apt for this thread

'Why should I throw fifteen million euro away when it is already mine? At the moment I signed it was in fact my money, my contract. Both sides agreed wholeheartedly (...) Few people will ever earn so many. I am one of the few fortunates who do. I may be one of the worst buys in the history of the Premiership, but I don't care.'

 

[HelloDolly]

Oh man, he's totally taking the 2 year extension isn't he? Ha ha

This ride is about to get wild. I bet Adams is going to deploy the full Lefévère roadbook on "how to roast your own rider in public".

Yes he will take the extension

Unless Adams can convince him now that they wont ever take him to the Tour or any big races again . And if he wants to ride the Tour again he may be better off looking elsewhere (you never know who'd take him) and IPT pay him off and finish his contract this year

I was never a fan of Froome but I have always been intrigued by his determined focused personality ...His Rwanda Olympics tale and how he went from zero to hero and took on Wiggins (not the easiest person to go up against, esp at that time ). He seemed to have those qualities most people lack and are very important in top athletes ..an invincible armour against the world and an immutable self belief

Funny how what seems to be your strongest traits can also be your weakest
It seems the whole world of cycling has moved on but Froome is living in some alternative universe where despite much evidence to the contrary he thinks he can lead GC at the Tour and produce results . And he is not even joking.

The inability to accept the reality of your situation is a kind of madness

 

[Lequack]

Yes he will take the extension

Unless Adams can convince him now that they wont ever take him to the Tour or any big races again . And if he wants to ride the Tour again he may be better off looking elsewhere (you never know who'd take him) and IPT pay him off and finish his contract this year

I was never a fan of Froome but I have always been intrigued by his determined focused personality ...His Rwanda Olympics tale and how he went from zero to hero and took on Wiggins (not the easiest person to go up against, esp at that time ). He seemed to have those qualities most people lack and are very important in top athletes ..an invincible armour against the world and an immutable self belief

Funny how what seems to be your strongest traits can also be your weakest
It seems the whole world of cycling has moved on but Froome is living in some alternative universe where despite much evidence to the contrary he thinks he can lead GC at the Tour and produce results . And he is not even joking.

The inability to accept the reality of your situation is a kind of madness

Jens Voigt said it best, it's hard to accept losing your fitness:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31I3L6luTfY

 

[perico]

This is gold. Isn’t Steve Bauer the man who would make the call as the DS/manager?

 

[frisenfruitig]

Yes he will take the extension

Unless Adams can convince him now that they wont ever take him to the Tour or any big races again . And if he wants to ride the Tour again he may be better off looking elsewhere (you never know who'd take him) and IPT pay him off and finish his contract this year

I was never a fan of Froome but I have always been intrigued by his determined focused personality ...His Rwanda Olympics tale and how he went from zero to hero and took on Wiggins (not the easiest person to go up against, esp at that time ). He seemed to have those qualities most people lack and are very important in top athletes ..an invincible armour against the world and an immutable self belief

Funny how what seems to be your strongest traits can also be your weakest
It seems the whole world of cycling has moved on but Froome is living in some alternative universe where despite much evidence to the contrary he thinks he can lead GC at the Tour and produce results . And he is not even joking.

The inability to accept the reality of your situation is a kind of madness

I think you underestimate what a slimy little weasel Froome really is. There is no way he is that delusional, he knows he's full of ***.

 

[rallybanana]

Unless Adams can convince him now that they wont ever take him to the Tour or any big races again . And if he wants to ride the Tour again he may be better off looking elsewhere (you never know who'd take him) and IPT pay him off and finish his contract this year

Is there any chance Israel could pay another team to take him off their hands?

 

[awavey]

Froome was sent to the following races this year: Tour Down Under and a couple of minor Australian one-day races, Rwanda (climbing stage race), Romandie (climbing stage race), Occitanie (climbing stage race), and Ventoux and Classic Alpes-Maritimes (his one decent result of the year). Hard to think of a program that could be more suited to him.

It's up to him to prove that he's worthy of having a whole team around him as leader.

Anyone else at the TdF in a leader role who rode those too ?

I think the point about proving you are worthy to have a team around you as leader, then renders the criticism of the rider not being at the tour as a leader a moot point. You set the criteria he didn't match up to it say it directly.

But Adams doesn't make that point its all abit nebulous around unnamed performance measures and more the fact he doesn't want to drop another rider who could stage hunt (even though IPT realistically only have 3 of those on this team) for Froome who he thinks should be challenging Jonas or Pog instead, among all the teams at this TdF none of the rest are remotely thinking their leader could challenge them.


if Froome didn't match up to their expectations that's one thing, if he's riding as (and I can't recall the rider who said it sorry) someone said last year putting out their best numbers of the career but finding you're still being shelled out the back after the first km, that's something different.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Dawg just needs
to get the hard miles in.

 

[Lequack]

Dawg just needs
to get the hard miles in.

He did get them in. That's why he was ready for the Tour.

 

[Wyndbrook]

I believe seven years ago, to the day, he was running up Ventoux.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

@topcat says Froome's (only) big in Japan, so I hope he'll do a Mancebo once his IPT contract runs out.

 

[rallybanana]

I believe seven years ago, to the day, he was running up Ventoux.

And seven years later Adam Yates gets the yellow jersey he thought he'd got on Ventoux

 

[Izzyeviel]

But if you close your eyes...

 

[LookProGoSlow]

We should rename this thread into the: ‘Chris Doome’ discussion thread

 

[Lequack]

He used to be a mountain sprinter

https://twitter.com/x/status/1679948318875561984

View: https://twitter.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1679948318875561984?s=20

 

[Escarabajo]

He used to be a mountain sprinter

https://twitter.com/x/status/1679948318875561984

View: https://twitter.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1679948318875561984?s=20

How fitting, just today in Cyclingnews Israel reporting Froome was not worth the money!!! LOL.

Chris Froome not ‘value for money,’ says Israel-Premier Tech team owner Sylvan Adams

Outspoken team owner asks why Froome would continue to race as a ‘pedestrian domestique’

www.cyclingnews.com

 

[Unchained]

For all of us that have passively aggressively thrown shade on Sylvan Adams, sorry from me. The guy feels like many, disappointed when you sign a Tour level rider and the guy can't put together 2 days of climbing, forget about contesting a stage race. For Adams to call a spade a spade is refreshing. And this should all be a cautionary tale about thinking too new school.. thinking backstory and things off the bike being a measurable factor. The real substance to all of this is Froome's reactions.. both.. On and off the bike. Froome is walking on a razor edge.. Being called a waste of money loser by his owner, and depending on what Froome does and says, is his baggage actually weighing him down. I got an ear to ear grin having someone who matters say straight.. All that recovering from injury tiny violins sing song is over.. We are paying you to produce... So produce already.