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Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

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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
Seems he's confirmed to ride the TDF as 'road captain' in support of Michael Woods:

Just waiting for final confirmation from Taxus4a now.

Froomie giving ideas to Woodsie:
"When Pogi hits out alone on a climb, you let him go like 100m and then you very fast close that gap alone. As you reach him, take a short break and then hit all out 10-15 times for 15 seconds and let him just get back in before hitting out again. After that you can hit out and go alone for the win, but it's always nice to have a good workout on these easy early stages with a friend"
 
Seems he's confirmed to ride the TDF as 'road captain' in support of Michael Woods:

Just waiting for final confirmation from Taxus4a now.
If you need it... Yes, he will ride le Tour de France :D;)

It was almost clear, the unknow was his paper..and it will be to help Woods and be captain road of the team...
The problem is that when you really work around a leader, protecting him on the flat, and thinks like that, it is difficult to measure your real level..

But anyway, if Froome is improving, I think we will see that.

His first Tour he had to work and he finisehd 82th..but he showed a real big level despite to work...Alp D Huez stage..he didnt eat enough food at the end, and finished 30th. But mainly the last ITT..14th..and in those dark times...big merit, and more considering he wansnt to ride that Tour..he went at last time... he dont have now the level he had in 2008, but he can do a good paper as well....and pretty sure he will be stronger than in Dauohine..but Tour is more level than Dauphine as well.
 
Froomie giving ideas to Woodsie:
"When Pogi hits out alone on a climb, you let him go like 100m and then you very fast close that gap alone. As you reach him, take a short break and then hit all out 10-15 times for 15 seconds and let him just get back in before hitting out again. After that you can hit out and go alone for the win, but it's always nice to have a good workout on these easy early stages with a friend"
Yes, Froome need to warm up..so with the first explosives attacks he lose time and with his mental strengh and once he has warmed, he got to destroy everybody... Now is similar, at a minor level, he lose contact quite far from the finish, but he managed to doesnt lose much time.n It is more usual in big champions to have an strong attack and later fade a little, as Contador did...but anyway both ways to attack are impressive for me.
 
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There's a lot of truth in this ...

It's pretty evident the "road captain" rank is public relations.

Even a top form Froome isn't qualified for that role. Can you really imagine Froome aka the guy with his eyes glued on his bike computer 90% of the time guiding his teammates & leader through crosswinds, roundabouts, sprints etc?

Nope. I just hope the French TV cameras don't miss the GC action on the first couple of stages because they're zooming in on Froome getting spat out the back. He was bad last year, he's arguably worse this year, i.e. it's old news now & considering his age, he's not coming back. Certainly not in the Tour de France.

"If" his team (& himself) were serious about building Froome up again, they would send him to lesser races like the Tour of Turkey, Hungary etc. (like Cavendish with DQS) in order to start from scratch. Certainly after seeing how bad he is. You also don't take a 36 year old & use the Tour de France as building blocks towards anything, i.e. putting another Tour de France in his legs will probably have the exact opposite (aka drain him entirely for the rest of the season).

Next year he'll be 37. There are plenty of other bike races out there, i.e. the "only" reason he's doing the Tour is publicity & nothing else (& probably contract reasons, but that's merely speculative).
 
It's pretty evident the "road captain" rank is public relations.

Even a top form Froome isn't qualified for that role. Can you really imagine Froome aka the guy with his eyes glued on his bike computer 90% of the time guiding his teammates & leader through crosswinds, roundabouts, sprints etc?

Nope. I just hope the French TV cameras don't miss the GC action on the first couple of stages because they're zooming in on Froome getting spat out the back. He was bad last year, he's arguably worse this year, i.e. it's old news now & considering his age, he's not coming back. Certainly not in the Tour de France.

"If" his team (& himself) were serious about building Froome up again, they would send him to lesser races like the Tour of Turkey, Hungary etc. (like Cavendish with DQS) in order to start from scratch. Certainly after seeing how bad he is. You also don't take a 36 year old & use the Tour de France as building blocks towards anything, i.e. putting another Tour de France in his legs will probably have the exact opposite (aka drain him entirely for the rest of the season).

Next year he'll be 37. There are plenty of other bike races out there, i.e. the "only" reason he's doing the Tour is publicity & nothing else (& probably contract reasons, but that's merely speculative).

I think his best bet is to get into the BOTD every day so he can get some positive camera time. Not being snarky, just brutally honest. Agree that "road captain" is pure PR.

Regarding his age and injuries -- he can come back to a decently high level. Look at Pozzovivo with his mangled shoulder/arm slugging it out in the T d Suisse at age 38/39...so there's still hope, I think.
 
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There's a lot of truth in this ...

The article does not make any sense, she is talking like ISN will need to control the race for 3 weeks when in reality the only time they might ride on the front is on some of the first few stages before the ITT if Woods is in yellow which is unlikely and Froome showed at Vuelta/Tirreno last year he is willing to ride on the front all day.
 
There's a lot of truth in this ...


He was there being guided, protected, shepherded by a teammate,

I dont Know if this is true. He wasnt working most of time, but I didnt see any rider protecting him.. Maybe was like that, but I dont know. If anybody has proofs of that, it would me interesting for me.

I see him working at 2 stages al least in Cataluña, for Impey, and yes, he was on the wind. so in that, Phillypa is wrong. I dont know if he was working more days along the season...

I understand Whay the test says..if he dont Improve his level, these days, it is difficult to see him doing that paper, as Lastras did in Movistar, But it is difficult to believe that if he was working 2 days, he was protected another days
 
The article does not make any sense, she is talking like ISN will need to control the race for 3 weeks when in reality the only time they might ride on the front is on some of the first few stages before the ITT if Woods is in yellow which is unlikely and Froome showed at Vuelta/Tirreno last year he is willing to ride on the front all day.

She is not just talking about riding at the front of the bunch, also about work within the bunch, keeping Woods out of the wind etc..
 
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She is not just talking about riding at the front of the bunch, also about work within the bunch, keeping Woods out of the wind etc..
it is what he did some times in Cataluña. It is what he did for Baden Cooke in 2008, and in general for Soler or Cardenas that year.

Froome finidhed 22 th this year a flat stage in Emirates, just behind the sprinters, close to Pogacar. I think he is able to do that.

But the statement has half publicity, half reallity, IMO, but half reallity, of course, he has the experience, and I think that the legs to do it. But, that work means some risks he shopuldnt face now..I think he will test himself some days, another he will try a break, anothers he will take a rest, and other times he will be helping the team and act as a captain.
 
In is true that at Dauphine he didnt work aparently, but he was very far from the bus, he was 47th at GC, and for le Tour he is predicted to be stronger, and he is better for 3 weeks than for one, so I dont think he will have problems for that.

But it is true that if he is working by the team, or looking for breaks, he will be likely some days at the bus.

But he was working at Cataluña and he didnt finish at the bus anyway.

The main propblem for me is that first days of le Tour are very extressed and dangerous, and he used to be very well protected by SKY at the front of the group...and now he has to protect. So the main think is he has no problemas with crashs.. maybe is better to lose time the first days and avoid danger. Help another days and test himself in others.
 
On what basis. He was nowhere near missing it at the Dauphine, where he was Israel's second best rider. He wasn't even near the autobus. If he misses a time cut there will be 80 riders with him. I'd worry about them first.
Froome placed where he did focusing on himself, many of the others placed where they did doing their specific jobs, which was not worried about the overall or placing on stages that mattered for the GC. So not much of an apple to apples comparison there. That said, you have a point, he was not close to being time cut. We'll have to see how he does over 3 weeks when he's actually working for others.
 
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In is true that at Dauphine he didnt work aparently, but he was very far from the bus, he was 47th at GC, and for le Tour he is predicted to be stronger, and he is better for 3 weeks than for one, so I dont think he will have problems for that.

But it is true that if he is working by the team, or looking for breaks, he will be likely some days at the bus.

But he was working at Cataluña and he didnt finish at the bus anyway.

The main propblem for me is that first days of le Tour are very extressed and dangerous, and he used to be very well protected by SKY at the front of the group...and now he has to protect. So the main think is he has no problemas with crashs.. maybe is better to lose time the first days and avoid danger. Help another days and test himself in others.
He has multiple main problems. The team does as well, because he has not in any way demonstrated he has the skills, aptitude or interest to be a road captain.

And his goal is not to worry about losing time, other than losing so much time he gets cut. His goal is to help ensure his team is supported, gets all the right information, and everything is kept in check for as long as possible. So, as the article notes, he very likely might be drilling it for the first couple of hours and then ending up way off the back.
 
He has multiple main problems. The team does as well, because he has not in any way demonstrated he has the skills, aptitude or interest to be a road captain.

And his goal is not to worry about losing time, other than losing so much time he gets cut. His goal is to help ensure his team is supported, gets all the right information, and everything is kept in check for as long as possible. So, as the article notes, he very likely might be drilling it for the first couple of hours and then ending up way off the back.


Two points

a) why would Israel SN be drilling it on the front for two hours? Other teams will be doing that.

b) If they need to it, they've got other riders in the team. What are they there for? A holiday?
 
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Two points

a) why would Israel SN be drilling it on the front for two hours? Other teams will be doing that.

b) If they need to it, they've got other riders in the team. What are they there for? A holiday?

Any team (even without GC prospects) can find themselves having to work early in a stage for several reasons, such as their leader being caught in cross winds, or a breakaway which they missed needs to be brought back etc.

Froome is 36, i.e. you can't teach an old dog (dawg?) new tricks. He was a GC rider who could blow up rivals with his watts, i.e. that was his strength. But he's not a road captain. Never was. Just look at the names of the other road captains in pro cycling, i.e. it's a role for riders like Tony Martin. Not Chris Froome.

Even if it's just a PR stunt, it certainly doesn't paint Israel Start-Up Nation as a serious contender.
 

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