Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[Vasilis]

If Froome had won that Vuelta originally, would he ever have raced it again? He spent so many years trying to win it once, how different things might have been. No salbutamol, no 3 GTs in a row.

Think he would have. It's after the Tour, not before. Doubt he'd have tried any Giro/Tour double if it really hurt Sky's chances to dominate the Tour, which it would have.

The real interesting question is what would've happened to the pecking order in the 2012 Tour.

Looking at the season Froome and Wiggins had in 2012, I think they still would have gone with Wiggins. Just like they would probably go with Froome for the Tour instead of Thomas this year.

 

[jaylew]

Re:

In completely other news, Froome seems to have been declared the winner of the 2011 Vuelta since Cobo has been disqualified.

Spanish media report this.

He hasn't been declared the winner. It's certainly a possibility but it would be further down the road and after the appeal process.

 

[Leinster]

Re: Re:

In completely other news, Froome seems to have been declared the winner of the 2011 Vuelta since Cobo has been disqualified.

Spanish media report this.

He hasn't been declared the winner. It's certainly a possibility but it would be further down the road and after the appeal process.

He hasn’t been declared officially, but effectively he is, as the original winner has been dq’ed.

With the guilty verdict, the onus is on Cobo now to prove a negative. If he cannot do that, the victory goes to Froome.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

2012 Tour next please

:lol:

Wiggo got money tho. Or has he spent it all on beer and tracksuits?

 

[Gigs_98]

If Froome had won that Vuelta originally, would he ever have raced it again? He spent so many years trying to win it once, how different things might have been. No salbutamol, no 3 GTs in a row.

Think he would have. It's after the Tour, not before. Doubt he'd have tried any Giro/Tour double if it really hurt Sky's chances to dominate the Tour, which it would have.

The real interesting question is what would've happened to the pecking order in the 2012 Tour.

Probably nothing as without cobo froome stays with Wiggins on the angliru and Wiggins wins the vuelta.

 

[SHAD0W93]

If we strike first from the record and give it to second, it's hard to say if second would have won the race in most of the editions. By the person who originally won being there, it changes the whole dynamic of the race.

It very well could have been Wiggins who won instead as Gigs said. Either way it is a hollow victory as he never officially was able to have winner benefits.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

In completely other news, Froome seems to have been declared the winner of the 2011 Vuelta since Cobo has been disqualified.

Spanish media report this.

He hasn't been declared the winner. It's certainly a possibility but it would be further down the road and after the appeal process.

He hasn’t been declared officially, but effectively he is, as the original winner has been dq’ed.

With the guilty verdict, the onus is on Cobo now to prove a negative. If he cannot do that, the victory goes to Froome.

He hasn't been disqualified yet. The UCI has just confirmed he has been found guilty. It is not certain that he will be disqualified or that his win goes to Froome in that case.

 

[huge]

I find it totally absurd that it has taken 8 years for the UCI to find out that something is wrong. Simply ridiculous.

 

[roundabout]

Re:

I find it totally absurd that it has taken 8 years for the UCI to find out that something is wrong. Simply ridiculous.

No, it's absurd that it took this long to get the case resolved, but it is very likely that Cobo was first notified of suspicious test results in 2014

 

[Bolder]

Re:

If we strike first from the record and give it to second, it's hard to say if second would have won the race in most of the editions. By the person who originally won being there, it changes the whole dynamic of the race.

It very well could have been Wiggins who won instead as Gigs said. Either way it is a hollow victory as he never officially was able to have winner benefits.

I made this point over in the clinic. Would rather see asterisks and let history decide. Otherwise you'll just see blanks like in LA's Tour win years.

As to why Sky were publicly backing Froome over Thomas this year: Maybe their power meters told them something, or it was a psychological game to take pressure off Thomas, who's less used to being in the spotlight and carrying the weight of expectations than Froome is. I suspect the latter, and Brailsford was going to let it play out on the road.

 

[dastott]

Obviously they look at the power numbers from training. It has been interesting listening to Brailsford and Knaven since Froome's accident talking about their revised plans for the TdF. Neither has come out and said categorically 'it's all for Thomas now'. Kind of surprised since he is the defending champ. Power numbers not good in training? Still overweight? Thomas was looking pretty good in Romandie, much better than in Romandie last year...

 

[Red Rick]

Let's be real here even we had literally 0 reason to believe Thomas would be better than Froome when the latter isn't coming off of the Giro. Thomas' 2nd best GT result is 15th place. He's not the basket Ineos will put all their eggs in.

 

[ppanther92]

Re:

I'm going to buck the trend here and say that CF will be flying for TdF 2020! Of course much like those who see this as the end of his career, I don't have enough info to make a true prediction. That being said, the femur will likely be fine, the question is more about the soft tissue.

I really can't see this. I am sure he will comeback, as he is not the type to let go that quickly. But as said before, both, hip and femur fracture, are obviously very bad for cyclists and there are few, if any, who reached their former level.

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

Let's be real here even we had literally 0 reason to believe Thomas would be better than Froome when the latter isn't coming off of the Giro. Thomas' 2nd best GT result is 15th place. He's not the basket Ineos will put all their eggs in.

What on earth does that matter when he has won the Tour??

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

Let's be real here even we had literally 0 reason to believe Thomas would be better than Froome when the latter isn't coming off of the Giro. Thomas' 2nd best GT result is 15th place. He's not the basket Ineos will put all their eggs in.

What on earth does that matter when he has won the Tour??

2nd is better than 1st

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Let's be real here even we had literally 0 reason to believe Thomas would be better than Froome when the latter isn't coming off of the Giro. Thomas' 2nd best GT result is 15th place. He's not the basket Ineos will put all their eggs in.

What on earth does that matter when he has won the Tour??

Maybe cause it means he's not as reliable as Froome is?

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

Let's be real here even we had literally 0 reason to believe Thomas would be better than Froome when the latter isn't coming off of the Giro. Thomas' 2nd best GT result is 15th place. He's not the basket Ineos will put all their eggs in.

What on earth does that matter when he has won the Tour??

Maybe cause it means he's not as reliable as Froome is?

Who is?

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Let's be real here even we had literally 0 reason to believe Thomas would be better than Froome when the latter isn't coming off of the Giro. Thomas' 2nd best GT result is 15th place. He's not the basket Ineos will put all their eggs in.

What on earth does that matter when he has won the Tour??

Maybe cause it means he's not as reliable as Froome is?

Who is?

I am deliberately vague cause I have no idea who I'm talking about either

 

[jmdirt]

Re: Re:

I'm going to buck the trend here and say that CF will be flying for TdF 2020! Of course much like those who see this as the end of his career, I don't have enough info to make a true prediction. That being said, the femur will likely be fine, the question is more about the soft tissue.

I really can't see this. I am sure he will comeback, as he is not the type to let go that quickly. But as said before, both, hip and femur fracture, are obviously very bad for cyclists and there are few, if any, who reached their former level.

His Dr. agrees with me! I should either become a doctor or buy a lottery ticket! :lol:

The pelvic fracture hasn't been mentioned since surgery so I'm not sure if that is actually one of the injuries...maybe we'll find out?

 

[MatParker117]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/chris-froome-could-come-back-stronger-within-six-months-says-surgeon/

Two litre blood loss, that is not good.

 

[canarydan23]

Re:

2012 Tour next please

Wait, you think Wiggins is clinic-worthy but not Froome?

Surely it's both or neither?

 

[oldcrank]

If the TopDawg returns from this horrific injury and wins another Grand Tour, he will earn a place among the greatest legends of sport. I certainly would not bet against him.
Perhaps the 2020 Tour is not realistic but it would be beautiful if he came back with a bang and won his third Vuelta in 2020.

 

[IndianCyclist]

Re: Re:

I'm going to buck the trend here and say that CF will be flying for TdF 2020! Of course much like those who see this as the end of his career, I don't have enough info to make a true prediction. That being said, the femur will likely be fine, the question is more about the soft tissue.

I really can't see this. I am sure he will comeback, as he is not the type to let go that quickly. But as said before, both, hip and femur fracture, are obviously very bad for cyclists and there are few, if any, who reached their former level.

Agree if the injury is debilitating then its no longer about how strong the person is but what the body allows the person to do. case in point Andy Schleck

 

[wirral]

Re: Re:

Agree if the injury is debilitating then its no longer about how strong the person is but what the body allows the person to do. case in point Andy Schleck

I don't disagree with your first statement but perhaps you might have chosen a different example of a strong person.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

I'm going to buck the trend here and say that CF will be flying for TdF 2020! Of course much like those who see this as the end of his career, I don't have enough info to make a true prediction. That being said, the femur will likely be fine, the question is more about the soft tissue.

I really can't see this. I am sure he will comeback, as he is not the type to let go that quickly. But as said before, both, hip and femur fracture, are obviously very bad for cyclists and there are few, if any, who reached their former level.

Agree if the injury is debilitating then its no longer about how strong the person is but what the body allows the person to do. case in point Andy Schleck

Andy had a hairline fracture of the pelvis, pretty different on the injury scale and Froome is a different species to Schleck as far as mental toughness goes. I think Schleck expected to win the 2011 Tour on the road after being give the previous Tour which he should have won on the road if he was smarter. In 2011 Evans had one of those years that he'd always promised to. Not sure if Schleck recovered mentally from losing the 2011 Tour, as I remember, before the race he was assuming it was going to be a match race between himself and Contador. Evans wasn't even on the radar after his disappointments in 2009 and 2010. But the brothers Schleck concerned themselves more with both of them making the podium than one of them winning the race. i thought Sastre's win over Evans in 2008 might have taught the Schleck's the value of having a stronger team. Alas tactics were never a strength for the Schlecks and Sastre was never supposed to win the 2008 Tour !

All in all I will be surprised if Froome wins another grand tour simply because of the time off and his age more than his recovery. I thought this year was his chance to win a fifth Tour. Plus the younger riders are improving. Nibali is basically in the same category re winning another GT. Quintana is younger but recently has shown little resemblance to the rider he was in 2013-2016, and I'm not convinced he can do it this year either.