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Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

Page 371 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.

Is Froome over the hill?

  • Yes.

    Votes: 26 35.1%
  • No, the GC finished 40 minutes ago but Froomie is still climbing it

    Votes: 42 56.8%
  • No he is totally winning the Vuelta

    Votes: 17 23.0%

  • Total voters
    74
I was encorigaring all the riders this days, but specially Froome, who lloked concetrating and quite sad, but he is going quite anonimous to the sign control, descending Camperona... Contador descended by car Farrapona, but here Froome is one more,I think in the Tour he is very protected.


Quintana is the best climber of the world, he has here a powerfull team, and Vuelta is the most important race for Movistar sponsor, but Froome is the best rider for Tours of the worldand he has a high determination and mental strenth. Everything can happends.

Quintana said he need 3 minutes before the ITT, but all we knows that if Quintana dropes Froome in the mountainsm in that ITT 1 minute could be enough. Or at least Domuolin put little time to Aru, Purito,.. in Burgos ITT (although it has 2 climbs)
 
Sorry, but I can't praise him at all. Today's performance was comical, confronting and simply a full affront against cycling. This ain't got nothing to do with racing anymore. It's why powermeters should be banned in racing.

This is worse than Armstrong imho. At least Lance played the badass bad boy role in perfection. As well as he was perfectly professional in his training program. But eventually he still was as much a cycling passionist as he was a sociopath. One of the last big guns to wear a true cycling cap on the podium etc. pp.. Racing with panache and instinct. Big character. Both in a good and a very bad way.

Froome just looks at his powermeters and rides his own tempo no matter if there's a race going on around him. Today he just put it on another completely laughable level. I can't enjoy it. He ain't no real bike rider anymore. More like an ape doing what the computer tells him. This ain't the cycling I fell in love with. This ain't the heroic fights I got hooked into anymore. This is just upper goofy and it shouldn't be able to happen. Because a true professional cyclist should be able to manage his power and efforts himself without a computer telling him what to do. Otherwise we could just forget about humans riding bikes someday and watch some E-Bikes going up the road by themselves ...

Edith adds that I kinda like Froome actually!
 
I disagree with you. It only adds excitement to the race. If he tried to hold Quintana's wheel then maybe he would have just got dropped 2-3km from the finish and lose time there. Not much action.
But when you see one of the favourites drop 10km from the finish and slowly work his way up, passing cyclist by cyclist, it gives so much more action for the viewers
 
Re:

staubsauger said:
This is worse than Armstrong imho. At least Lance played the badass bad boy role in perfection. As well as he was perfectly professional in his training program. But eventually he still was as much a cycling passionist as he was a sociopath. One of the last big guns to wear a true cycling cap on the podium etc. pp.. Racing with panache and instinct. Big character. Both in a good and a very bad way.

WATSON_00003953-023.jpg


;)
 
Jul 12, 2013
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Froome - Quintana (accurate) gaps at different phases of today's stage:
(km to go indicates the distance of the race leader to the finish at the moment Froome passes at the exact location that Quintana has passed previously)

-10.0k -> 12s
-9.3k -> 17s
-8.9k -> 17s
-8.2k -> 17s
-7.5k -> 23s
-6.9k -> 35
-6.3k -> 39s AC Starts his attack
-5.9k -> 49s
-5.7k -> 41s Froome increases tempo
-5.5k -> 38s
-5.3k -> 35s
-4.8k -> 33s
-4.3k -> 29s
-3.0k -> 19s (8s to AC)
-2.5k -> 25s (Froome catches AC)
-1.9k ->30s (45s toAC)
-1.0k -> 30s
finish -> 25s
 
Re: Re:

pastronef said:
staubsauger said:
This is worse than Armstrong imho. At least Lance played the badass bad boy role in perfection. As well as he was perfectly professional in his training program. But eventually he still was as much a cycling passionist as he was a sociopath. One of the last big guns to wear a true cycling cap on the podium etc. pp.. Racing with panache and instinct. Big character. Both in a good and a very bad way.

WATSON_00003953-023.jpg


;)
That was actually very cool back in 2014!

Still not as fancy as this though:
082961-295ad1de-f81b-11e3-9227-d59f5c5d579b.jpg
 
Aug 15, 2016
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Re:

staubsauger said:
Sorry, but I can't praise him at all. Today's performance was comical, confronting and simply a full affront against cycling. This ain't got nothing to do with racing anymore. It's why powermeters should be banned in racing.

This is worse than Armstrong imho. At least Lance played the badass bad boy role in perfection. As well as he was perfectly professional in his training program. But eventually he still was as much a cycling passionist as he was a sociopath. One of the last big guns to wear a true cycling cap on the podium etc. pp.. Racing with panache and instinct. Big character. Both in a good and a very bad way.

Froome just looks at his powermeters and rides his own tempo no matter if there's a race going on around him. Today he just put it on another completely laughable level. I can't enjoy it. He ain't no real bike rider anymore. More like an ape doing what the computer tells him. This ain't the cycling I fell in love with. This ain't the heroic fights I got hooked into anymore. This is just upper goofy and it shouldn't be able to happen. Because a true professional cyclist should be able to manage his power and efforts himself without a computer telling him what to do. Otherwise we could just forget about humans riding bikes someday and watch some E-Bikes going up the road by themselves ...

Edith adds that I kinda like Froome actually!

Froome is the most attacking rider from the GT contenders imo

But this GT he is not the strongest and he already got burned the other day with a suicide attack so he turned 100% on the tactics

Also, it keeps the GT open because if would have lost minutes like Contador today this Vuelta would have been worse than the Tour.
 
But he was still good enough to constantly outclimb Quintana in the race they originally both peaked for. Neither Kruijswijk nor Nibali were that outstanding at the Giro. Landa, because of illnesses of course, couldn't equal his 2015 Giro shape. Quintana ain't got his superb climbing boots at this years Tour. Neither he really had them in the Giro he won. Today he looks impressive at Lagos de Covadona and might very well follow that pattern. But “one swallow ain't gonna make no summer“ as we say in German and Dutch.

So yes. If you look at Froome's constant climbing level from 2011-2016 even in the Vuelta's he rode after the Tour he is both the strongest climber and the most attacking rider. Denying that would be unfair imho.
 
Quintana is the best climber of the world, but in a race not always climbers climbs the best.. the stages are not just climbs...sometimes climbers gets the climbs very tired.

Froome sometimes climbs the best becouse he is less tired of the flat, the wind,...

Froome has the best engine, but not the best qualities to climb. Sometimes is enough with the first.

I would like Froome win La Vuelta becouse he deserved it in the past, but right now Quintana is stronger and there is one stage very good for him, so it willbe difficult.. and quibntana deserve the Vuelta as well.
 
Re:

staubsauger said:
Sorry, but I can't praise him at all. Today's performance was comical, confronting and simply a full affront against cycling. This ain't got nothing to do with racing anymore. It's why powermeters should be banned in racing.

This is worse than Armstrong imho. At least Lance played the badass bad boy role in perfection. As well as he was perfectly professional in his training program. But eventually he still was as much a cycling passionist as he was a sociopath. One of the last big guns to wear a true cycling cap on the podium etc. pp.. Racing with panache and instinct. Big character. Both in a good and a very bad way.

Edith adds that I kinda like Froome actually!

I am wondering if you have ever raced uphill to make such a comment. I have, without a power meter, and have been unable to match the pace of smaller climbers at the start of a climb only to ride at my own pace and pass many of them by the finish. Froome slightly under peak also seems to need a warming up phase at the start of steeper climbs.
 
Re:

staubsauger said:
Sorry, but I can't praise him at all. Today's performance was comical, confronting and simply a full affront against cycling. This ain't got nothing to do with racing anymore. It's why powermeters should be banned in racing.

This is worse than Armstrong imho. At least Lance played the badass bad boy role in perfection. As well as he was perfectly professional in his training program. But eventually he still was as much a cycling passionist as he was a sociopath. One of the last big guns to wear a true cycling cap on the podium etc. pp.. Racing with panache and instinct. Big character. Both in a good and a very bad way.

Froome just looks at his powermeters and rides his own tempo no matter if there's a race going on around him. Today he just put it on another completely laughable level. I can't enjoy it. He ain't no real bike rider anymore. More like an ape doing what the computer tells him. This ain't the cycling I fell in love with. This ain't the heroic fights I got hooked into anymore. This is just upper goofy and it shouldn't be able to happen. Because a true professional cyclist should be able to manage his power and efforts himself without a computer telling him what to do. Otherwise we could just forget about humans riding bikes someday and watch some E-Bikes going up the road by themselves ...

Edith adds that I kinda like Froome actually!

You say that as if Froome knows exactly what power output he can sustain for 35 minutes after 4 hours racing, especially in this, uncertain, form
 
Re:

staubsauger said:
Sorry, but I can't praise him at all. Today's performance was comical, confronting and simply a full affront against cycling. This ain't got nothing to do with racing anymore. It's why powermeters should be banned in racing.

This is worse than Armstrong imho. At least Lance played the badass bad boy role in perfection. As well as he was perfectly professional in his training program. But eventually he still was as much a cycling passionist as he was a sociopath. One of the last big guns to wear a true cycling cap on the podium etc. pp.. Racing with panache and instinct. Big character. Both in a good and a very bad way.

Froome just looks at his powermeters and rides his own tempo no matter if there's a race going on around him. Today he just put it on another completely laughable level. I can't enjoy it. He ain't no real bike rider anymore. More like an ape doing what the computer tells him. This ain't the cycling I fell in love with. This ain't the heroic fights I got hooked into anymore. This is just upper goofy and it shouldn't be able to happen. Because a true professional cyclist should be able to manage his power and efforts himself without a computer telling him what to do. Otherwise we could just forget about humans riding bikes someday and watch some E-Bikes going up the road by themselves ...

Edith adds that I kinda like Froome actually!

And every coach of every sport would laugh at this opinion. It is precisely what is told to every athlete "stay within yourself and give it your best effort"
 
Yes I think it is all planned before as to what pace he would ride pre race by his team based on their test results and on the previous stage performance. At what point to increase the pace so as to conserve the muscles etc. He will come all out in the third week. Psychologically he has nothing to lose whereas Quintana will lose this season if he does not win. Even his teammates were ahead of him at one point.
We all like it when any rider comes from behind but in this case he is not really dropped.
 
Re: Re:

dastott said:
staubsauger said:
Sorry, but I can't praise him at all. Today's performance was comical, confronting and simply a full affront against cycling. This ain't got nothing to do with racing anymore. It's why powermeters should be banned in racing.

This is worse than Armstrong imho. At least Lance played the badass bad boy role in perfection. As well as he was perfectly professional in his training program. But eventually he still was as much a cycling passionist as he was a sociopath. One of the last big guns to wear a true cycling cap on the podium etc. pp.. Racing with panache and instinct. Big character. Both in a good and a very bad way.

Edith adds that I kinda like Froome actually!

I am wondering if you have ever raced uphill to make such a comment. I have, without a power meter, and have been unable to match the pace of smaller climbers at the start of a climb only to ride at my own pace and pass many of them by the finish. Froome slightly under peak also seems to need a warming up phase at the start of steeper climbs.
Well ... There you've got a big point, pal! Ask me again next fall after my potential Vosges trip and then we'll see how sheepish I'm gonna be.

But yeah. Of course I'm common with the diesel mode and climbing at your own rhythm. Actually it's what I would tend to do as well. Although I'm 1.71 meters and 57 kilograms.

My comment wasn't regarding that diesel mode actually. It was regarding riding like a computerized system with your powermeter and that's what yo-yo Froome apparently does. And of course he should now his numbers shouldn't he? At least that's what JC Leclercq is claiming and what Sky themselves claim with their scientific training program / approach. So of course that's the information my whole conclusion is based on. If Leclercq (and the Sky flacks) are wrong of course my comment loses his foundation.

So that's basically the thing I can't get warm with. Not the diesel mode. Not the “stay within your limits and give it the best“. I ain't no goofy pal. I'm aware that cooking yourself on purpose is the stupidest thing to do on a big col. But it's this apparently full computerized riding style I dislike. So basically no race instinct, no intuition at all. Just doing what the numbers told you. I don't know if that's a cool thing once it gets common usage ...
 
Froome ride like my riders in some PC games with dot effort, they've been yo-yoing since 2010 or something, very simple, but not really compatible with human psychological pattern in competitive situation, or however you put it in English, so it is efficient and look rudiculous at once.
 
Re:

IndianCyclist said:
Froome comments “I just rode the climb at the best pace I felt was the efficient way to get up there and according to how I thought the legs were feeling,”
Feeling and efficient are mutually exclusive ;)He was told at what pace to ride

Even if he was, doing what was told is sometimes tougher than we know.
In this uncertain form I'm sure he would have ridden by feel and experience which he has over the years.
Telling Quintana to ride at 440 Watts for the next half hour is easier said. Difficult to do.
 
Re:

IndianCyclist said:
Froome comments “I just rode the climb at the best pace I felt was the efficient way to get up there and according to how I thought the legs were feeling,”
Feeling and efficient are mutually exclusive ;)He was told at what pace to ride

No exclusive.
David Lopez said he face climbs as an ITT, and he try to keep the pace along the climb. He said it is not just a question of data, becouse you never knows how you fell after 180 Km, climbs...so it is a mixture.

This way to ride from Froome for me is quite dangerous, except when he is clearly the stronger (after the flat, hot day,...)

he did the same in Farraponam to put his pace..and he didnt mind if he was wearing at his wheel his main rival for long.. that is a crapy tactic...although he has not an strong atack, he has to look something new.

He did in le Tour with that descent.. in that race Quintana wanst feeling at his best, Froome didnt need it, but in la Vuelta he will need something like that. Quintana when is like now is quite strong in the ITT, 2 minutes is enough forure and maybe one.
 
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Re:

IndianCyclist said:
Froome comments “I just rode the climb at the best pace I felt was the efficient way to get up there and according to how I thought the legs were feeling,”
Feeling and efficient are mutually exclusive ;)He was told at what pace to ride

Then how come Feelin' Froome is so efficient?
He explained that his principal point of reference for the pace he should take is not - as is often speculated - his power metre, but in fact his sensations. “Other than crashing, it’s the worst feeling in the world if you start a climb too fast, and you’re in the red and like I did a few days ago, you’ve blown. I’ve learned my lesson there.”

“It is easy to get lured into the red early on, so basically yesterday I took a step back and gauged it a little better and it definitely served me well.”
 
What do you all make of NQ claiming he needs a three minute buffer before the TT? I think right now he knows he is strongest, and this is when we see him attack, when he knows he is the strongest. As for the three minute margin, I actually don't see Froome putting more than a minute into him.
 
Re:

Poursuivant said:
What do you all make of NQ claiming he needs a three minute buffer before the TT? I think right now he knows he is strongest, and this is when we see him attack, when he knows he is the strongest. As for the three minute margin, I actually don't see Froome putting more than a minute into him.

Logically Froome can't take a huge amount out of him in the ITT on current form - unless Froome is correct and he's building up for a third week peak at the same time as Quintana fading. The ITT being stage 19 rather than stage 12 or something could therefore be decisive.
 

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