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Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

Page 627 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.

Is Froome over the hill?

  • Yes.

    Votes: 26 34.7%
  • No, the GC finished 40 minutes ago but Froomie is still climbing it

    Votes: 42 56.0%
  • No he is totally winning the Vuelta

    Votes: 18 24.0%

  • Total voters
    75
Totally disagree. He dont need that money, he ride for the motivation of glory, and he will shut up a lot of mouths. Maybe nor this year, but the next,

Nothing against him for taking what he can get but you can never have enough money right? Would be no multimillionaires and billionaires if people usually think at some point "now it's enough, don't need no more".

At the same time I doubt that high level procyclists get really a chance to enjoy their wealth until they are done racing with the lifestyle they need to lead in order to be successful, at least until they are done with their careers. And even then I doubt all can just switch over from mad discipline day in and day out to truely enjoying a playboy kind of life.
 
Nothing against him for taking what he can get but you can never have enough money right? Would be no multimillionaires and billionaires if people usually think at some point "now it's enough, don't need no more".

At the same time I doubt that high level procyclists get really a chance to enjoy their wealth until they are done racing with the lifestyle they need to lead in order to be successful, at least until they are done with their careers. And even then I doubt all can just switch over from mad discipline day in and day out to truely enjoying a playboy kind of life.


It may depend on the specific rider as well. I'm sure many do take vacations during the off season.
 
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Yea, a guy Jan Ullrich for sure enjoyed the off season quite a bit if he usually didn't manage to get in any sort of shape until July even :D Now compare this to Roglic or Pogacar who are on fire in March already.


I'm fairly sure G Thomas had enjoyed some off seasons. I know Valverde (when there isn't a pandemic) takes his family on vacations.

Of course we have Van Aert and Van der Poel who are racing cyclocross when not racing road. So there's that as well.
 
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We have had many sofa experts (myself included) weighing in on Chris Froome's performance at Catalunya.

Well, here's a review from the man himself on how he fared in the race.

For those who cannot be bothered to click the video below, highlights include: "From the outside I can imagine people are writing me off, but that's fine I know where I've come from."

"Have to admit the first stage didn't really go as planned."

"I definitely feel a lot more upbeat after that time trial. I think I finished two minutes down on the winner."

'It's tough, basically getting kicked every time I'm trying to be up there."

'I'm just missing race fitness. It's as simple as that."

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glJwo6SUY3E
 
We have had many sofa experts (myself included) weighing in on Chris Froome's performance at Catalunya.

Well, here's a review from the man himself on how he fared in the race.

For those who cannot be bothered to click the video below, highlights include: "From the outside I can imagine people are writing me off, but that's fine I know where I've come from."

"Have to admit the first stage didn't really go as planned."

"I definitely feel a lot more upbeat after that time trial. I think I finished two minutes down on the winner."

'It's tough, basically getting kicked every time I'm trying to be up there."

'I'm just missing race fitness. It's as simple as that."

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glJwo6SUY3E
I tend to trust the evaluation of this forum more than anything coming out of his mouth. There are few individuals in the sports world that immediately bring up a gut “liar, liar, pants on fire” response from me like Froome does.
 
I wonder how this forum would react if Froome ended up winning the Tour like TGH in the Giro last year. He would have achieved his aim of winning a 5th TDF even though most of the big hitters had left the race for whatever reason. It would still be a win regardless of the opposition. Not saying that it would happen but stranger things have happened.
I think its more likely Froome wont be even in TDF team
 
We have had many sofa experts (myself included) weighing in on Chris Froome's performance at Catalunya.

Well, here's a review from the man himself on how he fared in the race.

For those who cannot be bothered to click the video below, highlights include: "From the outside I can imagine people are writing me off, but that's fine I know where I've come from."

"Have to admit the first stage didn't really go as planned."

"I definitely feel a lot more upbeat after that time trial. I think I finished two minutes down on the winner."

'It's tough, basically getting kicked every time I'm trying to be up there."

'I'm just missing race fitness. It's as simple as that."

Thank you for the quotes, I wasn't going to click on it 'cause I don't need YouTube's recommendation engine pushing a bunch of Froome drivel into my feed. Genuinely appreciate that effort.

It is quite something that he's calling a 2:05 loss to Dennis and a 90th place result as making him "more upbeat". Pretty amazing. And I'm not sure I buy the race fitness comment. One of the many things about Froome that was always so unbelievable was his fitness in early-season races and holding form for months on end. He didn't seem to need race fitness to show up for the season in storming form at his peak. Something is really different now.
 
Froome keeps talking about the comeback as if the accident was a few months ago.

He was in the World Tour peloton at the UAE Tour in February, 2020! (Finished 71st).

Froome has been pushing himself on the bike for well over a year now and was World Tour ready 13 months ago. (There are few human beings on planet Earth capable of finishing 71st in a multi-stage WT race).

My point being is that he has probably reached his plateau and he's about as good now as he's ever going to be.
 
Even on current form, 100% he rides the Tour. Look at all the coverage he had at Catalunya, there's no way Isreal pass that up at the TdF
I'm guessing any press that is "positive" pleases ISN management to some degree. Having him exit the Tour would not rate as a positive note so I'd agree with topt on this. Reading his own form evaluation in today's CN feature the stage is already set....for next year.
 
Likely Froome still has some issues with his body and he needs to sort that out first. Basically both legs doing what they should be doing and overall to feel comfortable on the bike again. Fundamentals.

After that will get sorted out, as this likely hasn't happened yet, i assume we will start to see his form and results rising again.
 
Likely Froome still has some issues with his body and he needs to sort that out first. Basically both legs doing what they should be doing and overall to feel comfortable on the bike again. Fundamentals.

After that will get sorted out, as this likely hasn't happened yet, i assume we will start to see his form and results rising again.
Physiologically speaking, giving the length of his rehab, that should already be taken care of. Perhaps there is some truth about the race fitness, although I am skeptical. But major inbalances should have been addressed by now.
 
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Physiologically speaking, giving the length of his rehab, that should already be taken care of. Perhaps there is some truth about the race fitness, although I am skeptical. But major inbalances should have been addressed by now.
While structural imbalances could be good to go the amount of atrophy alone would require a long rebuild. Cyclists aren't patient and a rush to "fitness" usually comes with some position adjustment cheats that the athlete pays for later. He hasn't said anything about that but frequently setbacks or plateaus come from those posture changes that can't sustain the kind of training level that gets you back to form. Almost any rider with a back injury can relate to it. Remco could face the same challenges IMO.
 
Likely some imbalance, discomfort or pain is still involved under stress. And this is what Froome is still trying to figure out, on how to properly approach and address it.

P.S. Once this gets figured out i feel that we will start to see the rise again. As before that it doesn't make all that much difference if you race for 100 or 30 place in a race.
 
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While structural imbalances could be good to go the amount of atrophy alone would require a long rebuild. Cyclists aren't patient and a rush to "fitness" usually comes with some position adjustment cheats that the athlete pays for later. He hasn't said anything about that but frequently setbacks or plateaus come from those posture changes that can't sustain the kind of training level that gets you back to form. Almost any rider with a back injury can relate to it. Remco could face the same challenges IMO.
If he is experiencing neurological issues similar to mechanical back pain, then perhaps. I am not saying he is not experiencing issues with symmetry, etc., more that he more or less would be at a plateau and rehab would not have major effect, unless he has really not been participating in rehab over the past 20+ months ;)
 
If he is experiencing neurological issues similar to mechanical back pain, then perhaps. I am not saying he is not experiencing issues with symmetry, etc., more that he more or less would be at a plateau and rehab would not have major effect, unless he has really not been participating in rehab over the past 20+ months ;)
Froome lost 20% of his power on the right squad. He needed more months of rehab last year and ineos behaved like an amateur team. They didn't everything to recover froome because it was his last year on the team.I know that this is a controversial statement, but that's what happened. Froome's coach paulo saldanha, said that he needed another 3 months of rehab, and also said that ineos put froome to soon on competition. So froome started from zero in december when he started the rehab in california.
 
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Froome lost 20% of his power on the right squad. He needed more months of rehab last year and ineos behaved like an amateur team. They didn't everything to recover froome because it was her last year on the team.I know that this is a controversial statement, but that's what happened. Froome's coach paulo saldanha, said that he needed another 3 months of rehab, and also said that ineos put froome to soon on competition. So froome started from zero in december when he started the rehab in california.
Coaches are talking PR over half the time when it comes to media comments. He did not start from scratch in December, even if he had inadequate rehab on the first go. Rehab from STI and fractures is a pretty established science, and Froome is a full time, world class athlete, and so would not exactly have a slowed recovery process. So, again, there's not a lot of balance and rehab left that is going to see much change. But there could be aspects of race fitness and weight loss, which he himself has noted. Or perhaps this is almost as good as it will get.
 
Coaches are talking PR over half the time when it comes to media comments. He did not start from scratch in December, even if he had inadequate rehab on the first go. Rehab from STI and fractures is a pretty established science, and Froome is a full time, world class athlete, and so would not exactly have a slowed recovery process. So, again, there's not a lot of balance and rehab left that is going to see much change. But there could be aspects of race fitness and weight loss, which he himself has noted. Or perhaps this is almost as good as it will get.
I disagree that there is not required balance and positioning therapy needed: as you begin to rebuild you need to adapt to the realities of the "new" structure. When you reach resistance to achieving a balanced cycling position it's important to find the cause and address it. Ignoring symptoms is where athletes will self-adjust to become more comfortable or "stronger" for the short term. Realistically; his body is different no matter what any physio or trainer would want to admit. He has to get acquainted with it to do what cyclists do: the same metronomic motion for hours on end. His stint as a World Class athlete hardly equipped him for dealing with a whole new physical balancing act. To your point: race fitness and weight adjustment will be part of that new form recognition but he may need more muscle mass, not less to be a whole athlete. He's a tall dude and his stature doesn't make this easier. Those physiques usually do not recover the same form in my experience. They move on to something else.
 
I disagree that there is not required balance and positioning therapy needed: as you begin to rebuild you need to adapt to the realities of the "new" structure. When you reach resistance to achieving a balanced cycling position it's important to find the cause and address it. Ignoring symptoms is where athletes will self-adjust to become more comfortable or "stronger" for the short term. Realistically; his body is different no matter what any physio or trainer would want to admit. He has to get acquainted with it to do what cyclists do: the same metronomic motion for hours on end. His stint as a World Class athlete hardly equipped him for dealing with a whole new physical balancing act. To your point: race fitness and weight adjustment will be part of that new form recognition but he may need more muscle mass, not less to be a whole athlete. He's a tall dude and his stature doesn't make this easier. Those physiques usually do not recover the same form in my experience. They move on to something else.
I think you are correct, I just think most of that applies to last year.
 

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