Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[rick james]

I think he's slowly building up his form, he done what was needed yesterday....if they didn't play about thye had the chance to bury Bertie and that would have been one less dangerous rider to keep a watch on

 

[Katabatic]

Re:

I think he's slowly building up his form, he done what was needed yesterday....if they didn't play about thye had the chance to bury Bertie and that would have been one less dangerous rider to keep a watch on

I don't know about that. If they "didn't play about" they likely would have dropped Martin and Bardet, which could have given some of the racers further down the road a way to bridge back to them if they didn't measure their effort perfectly.

Aru broke the climbing record for la planche and the pace was pretty fast throughout, so it's a bit much to say that Froome and Porte could easily have gained more time.

 

[Leinster]

Re: Re:

I think he's slowly building up his form, he done what was needed yesterday....if they didn't play about thye had the chance to bury Bertie and that would have been one less dangerous rider to keep a watch on

I don't know about that. If they "didn't play about" they likely would have dropped Martin and Bardet, which could have given some of the racers further down the road a way to bridge back to them if they didn't measure their effort perfectly.

Aru broke the climbing record for la planche and the pace was pretty fast throughout, so it's a bit much to say that Froome and Porte could easily have gained more time.

If Froome or Porte had thought they could drop Martin or Bardet, they wouldn't have sat up. And Martin did drop them in the end.

Froome sat up because he didn't want to drag the other 3 up to Aru and then get burned for the win. Martin then came forward because the stage win was still in play, and then still had enough in the tank to attack at the finish and take 4 seconds plus a 6s bonus. Froome needs a longer climb than the Planche to drop Martin.

 

[dacooley]

Froome obviously misses some extra watts he had in previous Tour, so the emphasis is being made on time trialing IMO. Yesterday Sky didn't plan to go all out and didn't mind the stage ending up with nothing or martin taking a few seconds.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re: Re:

I think he's slowly building up his form, he done what was needed yesterday....if they didn't play about thye had the chance to bury Bertie and that would have been one less dangerous rider to keep a watch on

I don't know about that. If they "didn't play about" they likely would have dropped Martin and Bardet, which could have given some of the racers further down the road a way to bridge back to them if they didn't measure their effort perfectly.

Aru broke the climbing record for la planche and the pace was pretty fast throughout, so it's a bit much to say that Froome and Porte could easily have gained more time.

If Froome or Porte had thought they could drop Martin or Bardet, they wouldn't have sat up. And Martin did drop them in the end.

Froome sat up because he didn't want to drag the other 3 up to Aru and then get burned for the win. Martin then came forward because the stage win was still in play, and then still had enough in the tank to attack at the finish and take 4 seconds plus a 6s bonus. Froome needs a longer climb than the Planche to drop Martin.

The problem was when the four broke clear after Froome's attack they got to the false flat section, almost impossible to ride away from anyone there and as you say, nobody wanted to drag the others up to that final ramp.

When you've got a guy like Martin or Valverde on your wheel in the final few hundred metres of a mountain stage they are always going to sprint away from you as they are much more explosive, and that's what happened.

All in all not a bad day for Froome , the two that finished ahead will lose close to a minute to him in the Marseille TT, and he put a few seconds into the rest. Plus Martin has almost always been dropped on the longer climbs so has that to prove.

 

[wouterkaas]

Knaven announced that Sky would be following in yesterday's stage. In that sense, Froome did a tremendous job taking time on all contenders except Aru (and Martin). It might be wishful thinking, but Froome might be trying to peak later in the Tour rather than building a solid lead early on and then defending by limiting the losses. On the other hand he's getting older too.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Froome wants to double with the Vuelta so it's logical he is taking it easier in the beginning of the Tour.

 

[bigcog]

Apparently, Froome had some sickness in the Dauphine according to Brian Smith which may explain some of his lack of form.

 

[Eclipse]

Re:

Froome wants to double with the Vuelta so it's logical he is taking it easier in the beginning of the Tour.

Very much agree with this. It's a prime year for him to get that elusive double given everyone elses season strategy/age

 

[RedheadDane]

After the finish today, referring to the sprinters:

"Big fat guys."

 

[SeriousSam]

If Froome were to do the Double this year, what would be his rank in the pantheon of Grand Tour riders? There'd be absolutely no question he'd be the best of any currently active riders, but what about his rank amongst all time legends?

 

[dacooley]

Re:

If Froome were to do the Double this year, what would be his rank in the pantheon of Grand Tour riders? There'd be absolutely no question he'd be the best of any currently active riders, but what about his rank amongst all time legends?

You definately have some insidious agenda for certain active riders.

 

[tretiak]

Re: Re:

If Froome were to do the Double this year, what would be his rank in the pantheon of Grand Tour riders? There'd be absolutely no question he'd be the best of any currently active riders, but what about his rank amongst all time legends?

You definately have some insidious agenda for certain active riders.

First he will have to win the Giro and 7 Grand Tours to start doing this comparsion.

 

[silvergrenade]

So, Froome says it was his easiest day at the Tour today.
Hoping for some mountains already.

 

[Blanco]

Re:

If Froome were to do the Double this year, what would be his rank in the pantheon of Grand Tour riders? There'd be absolutely no question he'd be the best of any currently active riders, but what about his rank amongst all time legends?

There would be question. He would be much closer to Contador, but that's it!

 

[Angliru]

Re:

If Froome were to do the Double this year, what would be his rank in the pantheon of Grand Tour riders? There'd be absolutely no question he'd be the best of any currently active riders, but what about his rank amongst all time legends?

Greatness is more than just victories. Occasionally one can become an icon because of the nature of their performances and the passion that is created. Memorable battles with a worthy rival/opponent adds to the aura.
The rider's style on the bike, appealing to the eye and unique to themselves has a bearing.

 

[MovistarRider]

Re:

If Froome were to do the Double this year, what would be his rank in the pantheon of Grand Tour riders? There'd be absolutely no question he'd be the best of any currently active riders, but what about his rank amongst all time legends?

With rankings like that you also have to take the strenght of the riders teams in consideration. How much of these GT wins is solely down to him being better than his competitors and how much because of him being the team leader of by far the strongest team in the last 7 years? For example, personally i'm not convinced that Froome would have won the 2015 TDF if he was not riding for Sky.

To claim that Froome (If he does this years TDF/Vuelta double) is a better pound-for-pound GT rider than the likes of Nibali, Contador and Nairo is one difficult to back up with hard facts. While one of the 3 might be riding a better GT than Froome and be the best of the GT contenders he could still lose out on the GC due to inferior teammates while Froome can still win a GT while not being the best rider in that particular GT thanks due to having the best support.

Its not only the total GT victories and numbers that count.

 

[Valv.Piti]

If Froome manages to win the double, I'd say he is the best GT-rider of his generation.

 

[MovistarRider]

Re:

If Froome manages to win the double, I'd say he is the best GT-rider of his generation. Most definitely.

And what if Nairo does manage to do a double in lets say 2019 or 2020 and eventually ends up with more GT wins than Froome?

Its way to early to say things like he would be the best GT rider of his generation.

 

[Singer01]

Re: Re:

If Froome were to do the Double this year, what would be his rank in the pantheon of Grand Tour riders? There'd be absolutely no question he'd be the best of any currently active riders, but what about his rank amongst all time legends?

With rankings like that you also have to take the strenght of the riders teams in consideration. How much of these GT wins is solely down to him being better than his competitors and how much because of him being the team leader of by far the strongest team in the last 7 years? For example, personally i'm not convinced that Froome would have won the 2015 TDF if he was not riding for Sky.

Conversely he may have won the 11 vuelta and the 12 TDF.

 

[dacooley]

People who preferred to see other riders having won those grand tours as always have a go at downplaying froome's accomplishments. typical fans. typical stuff. take it easy boys and girls, froome already paid his price for underservedly taken 2015 tour, by losing last year's vuelta under quite similar circumstances.

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

If Froome manages to win the double, I'd say he is the best GT-rider of his generation. Most definitely.

And what if Nairo does manage to do a double in lets say 2019 or 2020 and eventually ends up with more GT wins than Froome?

Its way to early to say things like he would be the best GT rider of his generation.

Nairo first needs to win TDF to be in any kind of conversation about best GT rider, so far he's level below certainly. Froome and Nibali are close imo, but I would tip the balance in Froome's favor becuase of his 3 Tour victories and because of the fact that he really is a dominant GT rider of the past 4-5 years, something that Nibali never was. Contador on the other hand is a level above, he has 7(9) GT's, 2(3) Tours and is a multiple winner of the Giro and Vuelta (only one in history beside Hinault). With that double Froome would come much closer, but I don't think he would reach Alberto yet.

 

[Angliru]

Re: Re:

If Froome were to do the Double this year, what would be his rank in the pantheon of Grand Tour riders? There'd be absolutely no question he'd be the best of any currently active riders, but what about his rank amongst all time legends?

With rankings like that you also have to take the strenght of the riders teams in consideration. How much of these GT wins is solely down to him being better than his competitors and how much because of him being the team leader of by far the strongest team in the last 7 years? For example, personally i'm not convinced that Froome would have won the 2015 TDF if he was not riding for Sky.

Conversely he may have won the 11 vuelta and the 12 TDF.

In an alternate universe where up is down, right is left and dark is light.

 

[Angliru]

Re:

People who preferred to see other riders having won those grand tours as always have a go at downplaying froome's accomplishments. typical fans. typical stuff. take it easy boys and girls, froome already paid his price for underservedly taken 2015 tour, by losing last year's vuelta under quite similar circumstances.

One man's downplaying is another one's rational belief.

 

[dacooley]

Re: Re:

People who preferred to see other riders having won those grand tours as always have a go at downplaying froome's accomplishments. typical fans. typical stuff. take it easy boys and girls, froome already paid his price for underservedly taken 2015 tour, by losing last year's vuelta under quite similar circumstances.

One man's downplaying is another one's rational belief.

since when beliefs started to get considered rational?