I think his level will have to go up some more in order to compete in breakaways, if anyone even wants to work with him.His performance on the Sestola stage suggests breakaway wins are still realistic.
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I think his level will have to go up some more in order to compete in breakaways, if anyone even wants to work with him.His performance on the Sestola stage suggests breakaway wins are still realistic.
Seems he's confirmed to ride the TDF as 'road captain' in support of Michael Woods:
Chris Froome confirmed to ride the Tour de France
Four-time winner will support Israel Start-Up Nation leader Michael Woodswww.cyclingnews.com
Just waiting for final confirmation from Taxus4a now.
If you need it... Yes, he will ride le Tour de FranceSeems he's confirmed to ride the TDF as 'road captain' in support of Michael Woods:
Chris Froome confirmed to ride the Tour de France
Four-time winner will support Israel Start-Up Nation leader Michael Woodswww.cyclingnews.com
Just waiting for final confirmation from Taxus4a now.
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.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"
There's a lot of truth in this ...
Philippa York: I struggle to see Chris Froome as a Tour de France road captain
'Good or bad, the Tour de France will be a new experience for the four-time champion'www.cyclingnews.com
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).
There's a lot of truth in this ...
Philippa York: I struggle to see Chris Froome as a Tour de France road captain
'Good or bad, the Tour de France will be a new experience for the four-time champion'www.cyclingnews.com
There's a lot of truth in this ...
Philippa York: I struggle to see Chris Froome as a Tour de France road captain
'Good or bad, the Tour de France will be a new experience for the four-time champion'www.cyclingnews.com
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.
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.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..
well, with the form he has been showing I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't pass the time cut of a hard stage.
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.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.
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.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.
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?
b) If they need to it, they've got other riders in the team. What are they there for? A holiday?