Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[masking_agent]

Looking at him suffer like he is on the Vuelta climbs, certainly make me feel sad for him. I wonder what he really thinks of Wiggo and his situation now ?

 

[patrick767]

Froome has got his shot at leading a GT team through his performance at the Tour. He understood before hand that is his job description, and he has been repaid by leading the Vuelta team. Maybe if he didn't do things like do multiple turns at the front on a sprint stage, burn up his demestiques unecessarily and sttack at pointless moments only to explode up the road a bit he would be doing better. I think he's been exposed as a valiant but naive cyclist.

It's clear to me that Froome is simply not as strong as he was at the Tour. That's hardly surprising. He's got an incredibly strong performance in France in his legs. It's asking a lot for him to be at peak performance for the Vuelta too.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

don't start with that World Champion bottle carrier shite. He's far from unique in that respect

Paolo Bettini was a mirage, man. He was never really there.

Fabian Wegmann won Lombardia in 2006. We just imagined one of the greatest victories in living memory.

 

[jens_attacks]

Looking at him suffer like he is on the Vuelta climbs, certainly make me feel sad for him. I wonder what he really thinks of Wiggo and his situation now ?

1998 Pantani:1st Giro-1st Tour
2000 Heras:5th Tour-1st Vuelta
2001 Sevilla:7th Tour-2nd Vuelta
2002 Beloki:2nd Tour-3rd Vuelta
2004 Mancebo:6th Tour-3rd Vuelta
2005 Mancebo:4th Tour-5th Vuelta
2006 Sastre:4th Tour-4th Vuelta
2007 Evans:2nd Tour-4th Vuelta
2007 Sastre:4th Tour-2nd Vuelta
2008 Menchov:5th Giro-4th Tour
2008 Sastre:1st Tour-3rd Vuelta
2010 Rodriguez 7th Tour-4th Vuelta
2011 Contador 1st Giro-5th Tour
2012 Froome 2nd Tour-4th Vuelta

i'm sure 1st would have been better for him,still that's a pretty nice performance by Froomey(barring any accidents or bad day on bola)...looking at the maths,only three guys in the last 14 years did better than him on consecutive grand tours.
and he won an olympic medal when he should have rested too



definitely he will be the sky leader
i'm pretty sure wiggo will go for the giro win

 

[King Of The Wolds]

Easily replaceable by a better rider.

If yellow was their only goal that is.

Wiggo sees Cav as like a little brother, so he probably appreciated having him around for his mental well being. Which, I'd have thought, was equally important as somebody who could bring the drinks back a little bit faster. I think Wiggo also enjoyed the distraction of leading Cav out, having somebody in the team to take the pressure off him a bit by bringing in some success for the team, and having a few stages to celebrate something other than his yellow jersey - definitely good for team morale.

So in a nutshell, you're wrong.

Re: Froome, I did state at the start of La Vuelta, that back to back GT podiums has only been done once this century. To be coming 4th at this stage is a monumental effort.

 

[Angliru]

Wiggo sees Cav as like a little brother, so he probably appreciated having him around for his mental well being. Which, I'd have thought, was equally important as somebody who could bring the drinks back a little bit faster. I think Wiggo also enjoyed the distraction of leading Cav out, having somebody in the team to take the pressure off him a bit by bringing in some success for the team, and having a few stages to celebrate something other than his yellow jersey - definitely good for team morale.

So in a nutshell, you're wrong.

Re: Froome, I did state at the start of La Vuelta, that back to back GT podiums has only been done once this century. To be coming 4th at this stage is a monumental effort.

I like Froome alot, but still I'm happy that Sky's plans for world domination have been thwarted.

 

[MatParker117]

Wiggo sees Cav as like a little brother, so he probably appreciated having him around for his mental well being. Which, I'd have thought, was equally important as somebody who could bring the drinks back a little bit faster. I think Wiggo also enjoyed the distraction of leading Cav out, having somebody in the team to take the pressure off him a bit by bringing in some success for the team, and having a few stages to celebrate something other than his yellow jersey - definitely good for team morale.

So in a nutshell, you're wrong.

Re: Froome, I did state at the start of La Vuelta, that back to back GT podiums has only been done once this century. To be coming 4th at this stage is a monumental effort.

He was punching the air in joy when Cav won Stage 18. So you're probably right.

 

[greenedge]

i'm pretty sure wiggo will go for the giro win

Nibali would hopefully smash him.

 

[Winterfold]

Jonathon Tiernan-Locke, rides for Endura, supposedly signed for AG2R next season.

Interesting - I had assumed he would be going to Sky...

 

[Winterfold]

Looking at him suffer like he is on the Vuelta climbs, certainly make me feel sad for him. I wonder what he really thinks of Wiggo and his situation now ?

I am sure he is pretty happy with his lot. It is very difficult not to like him when you see him interviewed after a stage when he has lost time and he is so honest and free of BS.

Froome-dog does seem v appropriate as a nickname - he has both the loyalty of a good dog but also needs to he held back when he is pulling at the leash.

A more mountainous TdF than this year's, with >80km ITT is probably his ideal GT - if he gets the support of the full A team next year eg Brad and Mick Rogers then he will kick a few arses.

 

[MartinGT]

Interesting - I had assumed he would be going to Sky...

Aye, a lot of people thought the same especially as he has spent time training with them abroad, however, rumour has it he is with Ag2R next season.

 

[iZnoGouD]

Aye, a lot of people thought the same especially as he has spent time training with them abroad, however, rumour has it he is with Ag2R next season.

hope they what they are doing, otherwise they will pull a Gilbert

 

[Winterfold]

Aye, a lot of people thought the same especially as he has spent time training with them abroad, however, rumour has it he is with Ag2R next season.

Well there was that for sure but it was something Brian Smith said that made me think it was a dead cert.

AG2R - not sure how that will work out?

I wonder if he is in form for the Worlds - I guess we will see soon enough I am looking forward to seeing him first up to the top on Winterfold on the 16th...

 

[maxmartin]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/froome-tips-rodriguez-for-final-vuelta-victory

 

[Froome19]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/froome-tips-rodriguez-for-final-vuelta-victory

Froome believes that “Rodriguez will win, unless something drastic comes up

Turns out he was right

 

[cineteq]

Turns out he was right

He would've been right either way

 

[wwabbit]

Valverde has said that Froome “continues to be a threat”

Only wrong thing said in that article

 

[Forunculo]

Well, saving his best legs for another rider was a bad option, hopefully he will take leadership from Wiggo

 

[webvan]

He'll have to take it on the road, Wiggo will enter the next TDF as #1 for sure, then let the race decide like in 1997 with Riis/Ullrich. It will be interesting to see if Froome can sustain attacks...for all we know both on Toussuire and Peyragudes where he recovered after being in difficulty he could have faded like he did on the first Asturias stage. I like the guy but I'm beginning to have my doubts. Could be the next Jean-François Bernard...

 

[movingtarget]

He'll have to take it on the road, Wiggo will enter the next TDF as #1 for sure, then let the race decide like in 1997 with Riis/Ullrich. It will be interesting to see if Froome can sustain attacks...for all we know both on Toussuire and Peyragudes where he recovered after being in difficulty he could have faded like he did on the first Asturias stage. I like the guy but I'm beginning to have my doubts. Could be the next Jean-François Bernard...

I doubt that Wiggins would have made the podium either with the Tour in his legs. As Froome said, he was going into unchartered territory and did not know how his legs would be after the Tour. It seems that a lot of people who said that Froome should have won the 2011 Vuelta and 2012 Tour are now happy to write him off altogether when almost everyone knows that it is almost impossible to be at your best for two grand tours per year.

 

[webvan]

That's not what I wrote, and agan I'm a big fan of the guy. I do have a BIG problem with people saying he would have won the TDF had he not waited for Wiggins, which was the only reasonable thing to do team wise, let's not get into that again. There's really no way of knowing if he could have sustained it on Toussuire and Peyragudes after being in slight difficulty (more so on Touissure but he couldn't follow Pinot on Peyresourde unlike Wiggo), he couldn't against Cobo last year and couldn't when he came back in the first Asturias stage, these are hard facts.

It would be silly to write him off at this point (although he'll be at 10+ in the Vuelta, that's a lot) and if he's up to it the likely tactic for Sky next year will be to have him follow Bertie's attacks and have someone else pace Wiggo, Henao, Uran, Suitsou (sp?), etc...then we'll know.

 

[JimmyFingers]

Think Sky will need both Wiggo and Froome aka The Praying Mantis to be at their best to beat Contador on this showing here, and the best from their team. Froome in the Vuelta has been undone by a combination of tired legs and tactical gaffs IMO. I hope he learns as much as he can from this race and applies it next time he gets the opportunity to lead a team in a GT, maybe the Giro?

 

[Spaniard]

I think i have read somewhere that Contador thinks Froome is mentally weak, something like "If I were Froome I wouldn't care if Wiggins is the leader, I attack by myself "

Froome seems a nice guy and a great rider, but he needs leaving sky to take his glory.

 

[MartinGT]

I think i have read somewhere that Contador thinks Froome is mentally weak, something like "If I were Froome I wouldn't care if Wiggins is the leader, I attack by myself "

Froome seems a nice guy and a great rider, but he needs leaving sky to take his glory.

I dont think he does. He can either ride the Giro or Vuelta next season if Wiggins is going to ride the Tour.

I dont think Wiggins will ride the Tour after next year, I think he will aim for PR as its a race he has always loved. If thats the case it will open the door to Froome.

 

[Tashkent Terror]

Easy to say in hindsight and I know others shared the feeling this Vuelta would be a stretch after the Tour and the frenzy of the Olympics at 'home', particularly with those early steep finishes with bonification seconds that suited the other favourites that little bit more.

Froome has been ultra consistent these past twelve months and I believe he may be Alberto's main challenger at next year's Tour, particularly with the backing of Sky and all that brings, depends on how Wiggo goes I suppose.

Imagine he would have learned a helluva lot racing with three very crafty and brilliant Spaniards, a real lesson which would have taught him far more than his previous podium results and should serve him well moving forward.