Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[yespatterns]

As much as I dislike Froome and wiggo, the real villain in sky seems to be Brailsford. Use and discard as need be seems to be his modus operandi.

 

[argyllflyer]

As much as I dislike Froome and wiggo, the real villain in sky seems to be Brailsford. Use and discard as need be seems to be his modus operandi.

To be fair to him, he sees his job as one of getting results, not that of brown-nosing big name riders. Occasionally the strategy doesn't work out, but he's got it right more often than not. Sentimentality keeps people like the Schlecks and Basso in the GC hunt long after their usefulness has passed.

 

[Richeypen]

As much as I dislike Froome and wiggo, the real villain in sky seems to be Brailsford. Use and discard as need be seems to be his modus operandi.

He is cold and calculated with no loyalty and sentiment deciding everything on test results and statistics. It is a practice which has brought unbelievable results with the Olympic team and with Team Sky.

Personally it makes sense in a 4 year Olympic cycle, transfer that to a pro team and fans that support riders not teams though and it makes both him and the team very hard to like.

On this occasion though he did nothing wrong, Froome had a ****ed wrist and the team knew it. Not much anyone can do about that.

 

[Richeypen]

To be fair to him, he sees his job as one of getting results, not that of brown-nosing big name riders. Occasionally the strategy doesn't work out, but he's got it right more often than not. Sentimentality keeps people like the Schlecks and Basso in the GC hunt long after their usefulness has passed.

Very true. There is a happy medium though.

 

[movingtarget]

That Porte comment basically tells me they have written off Frome before the start. Porte getting the two best cobble domestiques says it all. Cynical by Brailsford indeed. But that is one of his trademarks I reckon.

As far as I know Froome did not crash on the cobbles. The wrist was probably worse than the team made out and also the hip that he hurt during the Dauphine and hurt again this week. Brailsford playing the percentages. I was looking forward to the Froome Contador battle even though recent events seemed to swing in Contador's favour. Nibali was not good in the Dauphine so the race is far from over and it also gives us the chance to see Porte as team leader. Missing the Giro and losing his friend might give Porte even more motivation now. The pressure is firmly on Nibali now and I'm not convinced that Astana will be strong in the mountains.

 

[yespatterns]

If that's his mentality, then so be it, but it boggles my mind why any professional would put themselves in the position to deal with it. Seems like it takes the human aspect out of things.

 

[JRanton]

If that's his mentality, then so be it, but it boggles my mind why any professional would put themselves in the position to deal with it. Seems like it takes the human aspect out of things.

The ''human aspect'' reminds me of Brazil's performance the other night after all the nonsense and drama over Neymar's absence (which the players and management bought into). As much as that element is appealing to fans and the public it's not compatible with being successful in elite sport.

If Wiggins was showing anywhere close to his 2012 numbers on the climbs then he'd have been in that Tour team. But like I've said before, the guy hasn't trained to be a grand tour rider since before last year's Giro and even then he missed the Tenerife camps that his teammates attended. I don't particularly blame the guy though, he had his Tour win and he said himself he was happy with that. Without wishing to be rude, it's his delusional fans that are the issue.

 

[MartinGT]

I gonna tell you guys one thing. I am not a big Froome fan at all, and I wanted him to lose (and Nibs or Contador to win - and I feel confident Contador would have beaten Froome regardless of crashes). But it saddens me to see Froome go down like this.

I wasnt a fan of Contador before he had that epic meltdown in Paris Nice many years back where he totally crumbled. When big stars lose out that for some awkward reason make me respect or like them more. So after today and yesterday and DL I dont dislike Froome as much as before to be honest.

This bolded paragraph sums it up for me.

To see him down a couple of times and then looking at him in pain getting in the car was saddening.

I dont know if this has been discussed either, but for me, Porte looks far too skinny. He just looks like skin and bones and IMO this is not good at all.

Porte's comments also shows what attitude Brailsford has, the bloke is poison.

 

[Pricey_sky]

This bolded paragraph sums it up for me.

To see him down a couple of times and then looking at him in pain getting in the car was saddening.

I dont know if this has been discussed either, but for me, Porte looks far too skinny. He just looks like skin and bones and IMO this is not good at all.

Porte's comments also shows what attitude Brailsford has, the bloke is poison.

Brailsford is one of the worlds best when it comes to the track, GB's results since 2008 prove that. Unfortunately for him road cycling is completely different and needs to hand over to a more proven man who can oversee the road team.

Although I will say making the tough decision of protecting Porte instead of an injured Froome was the right call yesterday. Imagine if he'd have just stuck everyone on Froome when he crashed twice and left Porte completely on his own? He'd have been in right trouble then!

 

[MartinGT]

I just dont trust the bloke. He speaks like a politician. I know he has riders to protect etc, but Sky are always contradicting themselves and basically talking sh!te.

When was the last time we had a rider as skinny as Froome? No wonder he is always picking up these coughs!

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

It doesn't sadden me to see Froome go down like that. It saddens me to see a grown man crying over some rain and cobbles, being mentally broken, and leaving the TdF with some minor bruises.

I would have respected him if he stayed on the bike. That's what a champion does.

 

[Pricey_sky]

It doesn't sadden me to see Froome go down like that. It saddens me to see a grown man crying over some rain and cobbles, being mentally broken, and leaving the TdF with some minor bruises.

I would have respected him if he stayed on the bike. That's what a champion does.

You obviously haven't been paying attention the last 2 days, Froome's wrist was already ruined after Tuesday's crash, to the point where Sky even put their faith in Porte yesterday and just asked Froome to see what he could do. Even the doctor could not admit how bad the injury was!

Have you ever ridden on cobbles with a suspected broken wrist? unfortunately he didn't get that far due to crashing twice again. He looked in bad shape when he hobbled into the car yesterday and did not move his wrist at all. Go back to Tuesday and you could see his injuries from his bad crash at the Dauphine hadn't even healed properly. You don't need to even be a fan to see this, even many Froome haters on here have admitted he looked physically in a bad state yesterday.

 

[MartinGT]

It doesn't sadden me to see Froome go down like that. It saddens me to see a grown man crying over some rain and cobbles, being mentally broken, and leaving the TdF with some minor bruises.

I would have respected him if he stayed on the bike. That's what a champion does.

Thats harsh mate given the injuries he was carrying.

 

[MBotero]

It doesn't sadden me to see Froome go down like that. It saddens me to see a grown man crying over some rain and cobbles, being mentally broken, and leaving the TdF with some minor bruises.

I would have respected him if he stayed on the bike. That's what a champion does.

He was injured from the stage before the cobbles,he couldn't control the bike properly.WTF he was supposed to do after 2 more crashes,to jump on the bike and carry on like a champSky team was already given Porte the best 2 cobbles guys,the guy was injured give him a break.

 

[Hawkwood]

He was injured from the stage before the cobbles,he couldn't control the bike properly.WTF he was supposed to do after 2 more crashes,to jump on the bike and carry on like a champSky team was already given Porte the best 2 cobbles guys,the guy was injured give him a break.

Agreed. I've only ever had one broken/fractured bone and that was in my wrist after a cycle crash. There was no possibility I could grip the bars, it wasn't the pain (of which there there was lots), it was due to the complete loss of grip strength.

 

[jens_attacks]

my fear was justified. very good decision that he didn't climb up the bike, god knows what would happen to him on the cobbles. at least he has a chance for vuelta this way. sad day for a spectacular tdf in the mountains but that's cycling.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Frank VDB rode a WC (Verona 99) with two broken wrists. Almost won it.

 

[Justico]

It doesn't sadden me to see Froome go down like that. It saddens me to see a grown man crying over some rain and cobbles, being mentally broken, and leaving the TdF with some minor bruises.

I would have respected him if he stayed on the bike. That's what a champion does.

gtfo back to your troll cave.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I feel bad for Froome, it's always sad to see the big favorite go out this way and we were in for quite a show in the mountains. I think it's the first time since 1980 that the defending champion has abandoned the race, right?

That said, I think Froome suffered mentally from the beginning of the Tour. Probably because of his crash in Dauphine. He was constantly way too far back in the peloton. At the time of his first crash yesterday, there wasn't even a single Sky rider with him which indicates that he was alone at the back.

I hope he'll bounce back for the Vuelta. That one could be pretty spectacular.

 

[Hawkwood]

Frank VDB rode a WC (Verona 99) with two broken wrists. Almost won it.

It depends which bones you've broken or fractured as to what you can, or can't do. In Frank's case he had Johan Museuuw and Peter van Petegem looking after at the Verona Worlds, he crashed but told them he was okay, they continued to look after him, but were furious later when they found out he couldn't pull on the bars. Not being able to pull on the bars would have been a bit of a disadvantage in the sprint.

 

[MBotero]

Frank VDB rode a WC (Verona 99) with two broken wrists. Almost won it.

Maybe he's "marginal gains" are the answer for this

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Wasn't there a rumour that the Vuelta was to insert a Pave' stage?

 

[mr. tibbs]

Why "Dawg"?

It seems like an entirely unfitting nickname.

 

[Afrank]

Why "Dawg"?

It seems like an entirely unfitting nickname.

Comes from how he worked for Wiggins like a dog. I beleive Cound said something about it too, that he was called Froomedawg on the team as a nickname.

 

[Afrank]

Frank VDB rode a WC (Verona 99) with two broken wrists. Almost won it.

These aren't the "old days" anymore. While it's hugely impressive if a rider fights back and ride with their injury, they shouldn't have to to prove they are a champion or tough or a real man, or anything else like that.

Sometimes the best decision for a riders health (both physical and mental) and for their future isn't to struggle to continue the race for an entire 3 weeks in pain. It's to take a step back, admit this just isn't your race this year, and work on healing and making it back to your best to fight for victory another day.