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Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

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Is Froome over the hill?

  • Yes.

    Votes: 28 35.4%

  • No, the GC finished 40 minutes ago but Froomie is still climbing it

    Votes: 45 57.0%

  • No he is totally winning the Vuelta

    Votes: 18 22.8%
  • Total voters
    79
P

ppanther92

May 3, 2015
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I mean, Froome is probably more dedicated and driven than A. Schleck but also at that point his performance is way below what Schleck showed in 2013/14. And the best Schleck could do was a top 20 in the Tour after his injury (I still think he would have finished slightly higher in 2014 without crashing out again, since TdS and NC went way better than 2013, but still). Arguably, Froome's injury was even worse but I mean a fractured pelvis can already have huge effects on cyclist performance (Beloki, Schleck).

Anyway, point is - I have really low expectations still, even if there was slight improvement compared to last years UAE tour.
 
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TMJ

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Since he just about hung on at the back on the biggest climb of the day I assumed Chris Froome finished in the main bunch of favourites 16 seconds behind the winner.
He didn't! He couldn't stay with them on the downhill and flat to the finishing line and was (wait for it) eight and a half minutes down on the stage winner.
I wish Froome all the best in the world, but I think were are being sold a dud here with all this talk of "building up the form".
He's probably as good now as he's ever going to be.
Anyone out there think he deliberately dropped time so he can get out in a breakaway later this week?
 
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Rackham

Rackham

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TMJ said:
Chris has come back to a different world in professional cycling. He's probably asking himself: "Am I on planet Earth?"
Click to expand...

It's the Israelis who'll be asking themselves what the hell they paid for.

Froome was injured & he's too old to make a comeback as a GC contender. It takes two to tango & both his team & Froome himself share responsibility, i.e. Israel wanted a big name to promote their team brand whilst Froome oversold his own abilities. Kaboom, aka a perfect sporting car crash.

There's no way out now because everyone/anyone can always say Froome should have simply retired with some dignity instead of robbing his new team. Too late now, i.e. he must endure the undignified TV footage & commentary associated with a former champ dropped... whilst he's collecting the highest wage in cycling.

Not a good look.
 
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tobydawq

tobydawq

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TMJ said:
Since he just about hung on at the back on the biggest climb of the day I assumed Chris Froome finished in the main bunch of favourites 16 seconds behind the winner.
He didn't! He couldn't stay with them on the downhill and flat to the finishing line and was (wait for it) eight and a half minutes down on the stage winner.
I wish Froome all the best in the world, but I think were are being sold a dud here with all this talk of "building up the form".
He's probably as good now as he's ever going to be.
Anyone out there think he deliberately dropped time so he can get out in a breakaway later this week?
Click to expand...

He was dropped before the top.
 
spalco

spalco

Feb 1, 2011
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Rackham said:
It's the Israelis who'll be asking themselves what the hell they paid for.

Froome was injured & he's too old to make a comeback as a GC contender. It takes two to tango & both his team & Froome himself share responsibility, i.e. Israel wanted a big name to promote their team brand whilst Froome oversold his own abilities. Kaboom, aka a perfect sporting car crash.

There's no way out now because everyone/anyone can always say Froome should have simply retired with some dignity instead of robbing his new team. Too late now, i.e. he must endure the undignified TV footage & commentary associated with a former champ dropped... whilst he's collecting the highest wage in cycling.

Not a good look.
Click to expand...

Yeah. It'll be a very long year for him. And then maybe yet another attempt next season?...
 
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TMJ

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Chris Froome October 22, 2021 : "It's great to get a full season of racing in the legs. I am still getting acclimatised to the rhythm of the peloton, but with every race I get a little closer.
"Looking back, 2021 was a good block of training in race conditions and with a full winter of preparation I think I can seriously build up back to my best form in 2022.
"We have been working on the imbalance in the power of my legs and that is an ongoing project, but I have some fantastic people behind the scenes working on this, best in the world in fact, so expect to see improvement soon.
"The early races in 2022 will be the build up to The Tour and by the time that starts I should have enough preparation and racing behind me to hopefully be near or back to my best."
 
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B

Bolder

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Rackham said:
It's the Israelis who'll be asking themselves what the hell they paid for.

Froome was injured & he's too old to make a comeback as a GC contender. It takes two to tango & both his team & Froome himself share responsibility, i.e. Israel wanted a big name to promote their team brand whilst Froome oversold his own abilities. Kaboom, aka a perfect sporting car crash.

There's no way out now because everyone/anyone can always say Froome should have simply retired with some dignity instead of robbing his new team. Too late now, i.e. he must endure the undignified TV footage & commentary associated with a former champ dropped... whilst he's collecting the highest wage in cycling.

Not a good look.
Click to expand...
To be fair I'm sure Froome thought he could get back to his previous level. And we don't know the details of his contract. But if isn are really paying him 5.5 m guaranteed then it's a bad decision on them...at least so far.
 
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Bolder

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Red Rick said:
And if he thought he couldn't and he was offered 5.5M/y you think he'd refuse?
Click to expand...

That's an awfully cynical view.

Why would he think he couldn't? I don't particularly care for Froome, but I do think he's an optimist and a hard worker. Before his injury I don't think a lot of people were saying that he was done or in an irreversible decline. He cares about his place in cycling history so why would he knowingly make himself a laughingstock?

I don't disagree that if ISN is paying CF 5.5m in guaranteed money that that's at best a risky gamble and at worst throwing good money away, but I'm not going to say Froome was complicit in some kind of scam.
 
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Red Rick

Red Rick

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Bolder said:
That's an awfully cynical view.

Why would he think he couldn't? I don't particularly care for Froome, but I do think he's an optimist and a hard worker. Before his injury I don't think a lot of people were saying that he was done or in an irreversible decline. He cares about his place in cycling history so why would he knowingly make himself a laughingstock?

I don't disagree that if ISN is paying CF 5.5m in guaranteed money that that's at best a risky gamble and at worst throwing good money away, but I'm not going to say Froome was complicit in some kind of scam.
Click to expand...
Because there I don't know any athlete to come back from such injury to the top level.

And I don't fault Froome for taking the contract at all. I'd be laughing all the way to the bank too
 
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