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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
He will never be a loser. You can talk all you want, and mock him, but 5 millions per year, and a legendary career with so many victories.....it's stupid make fun if someone so well successful.
Well to some of us, success (however gotten) isn't what makes a person worthy of respect. Didn't see anyone call him a loser. But how he has and continues to conduct himself makes people root against him. He's a fraud in every sense of the word, willing to say anything to further his "success". It used to be aggravating when he was winning. It's pathetic now that he's not even competitive.
 
Well to some of us, success (however gotten) isn't what makes a person worthy of respect. Didn't see anyone call him a loser. But how he has and continues to conduct himself makes people root against him. He's a fraud in every sense of the word, willing to say anything to further his "success". It used to be aggravating when he was winning. It's pathetic now that he's not even competitive.
Without going into it, because this isn't the place, the legal drama of his asthma medication case was simply outrageous beyond belief. He than crashed hard apparently, to only come back his Barloworld twin on another team at 5 mil per year. Applause. Broken bones, however many through they may have been (look at Bernal evidently), heal, so you cannot account for being reduced to oblivion upon your return after having "spun" up Ventoux at turbo speed on the crash alone. Something about his whole story and parabola, just doesn't add up. The word fraud is unavoidable, while the feigned optimism, with constant updates from one who has zero chance of ever being seriously competitive again at the top of the sport, again at 5 mil per year, is a mockery to us all. Yet cynically he persists, because 5 mil a year is worth more than your legacy. Still, it takes a real egomaniac to continue the charade with such gusto and bravura. Whereas I bet had Ineos not dropped him, the sad story would have ended otherwise. It's singularly ironic, however, how he says he's waiting to get back to his "old self," because he is back to his old self. The cyclist, that is, he's always been before Brailsford and Sky got hold of him or he them.
 
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Well to some of us, success (however gotten) isn't what makes a person worthy of respect. Didn't see anyone call him a loser. But how he has and continues to conduct himself makes people root against him. He's a fraud in every sense of the word, willing to say anything to further his "success". It used to be aggravating when he was winning. It's pathetic now that he's not even competitive.
He's not a fraud just because some people on cycling news forum says that.

The reality, the real world is different. This is just a bubble.
 
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He's not a fraud just because some people on cycling news forum says that.

The reality, the real world is different. This is just a bubble.
He is certainly not a fraud, don't know about his bang for the money marketing?
I personally don't tune in expecting a surprise or check CN expecting to see him standing on the boxes. More power to him..if he can get paid millions for a good attitude.. Why not?
Normally the market tells you that you stayed at the party too long.. in his case, found a squad that has different, more subtle objectives than winning bike races,or even closely contesting them.. It's a puzzle to me, but I don't have $5, 000,000+ for Froome to do a Gran Fondo in Australia!! I hope he gets the t-shirt and maybe a participation medal and stuffed Kangaroo toy..he lost weight for going fast on the flats? Like I said it's all a mystery to me.. Hope he goes firecracker and gets a podium at a big race..his chances of being on the boxes after 3 weeks at any of them look remote... all we can hope for is that Cavendish is asking for advice.. Froome is the cycling equivalent to a wet blanket..
 
He is certainly not a fraud, don't know about his bang for the money marketing?
I personally don't tune in expecting a surprise or check CN expecting to see him standing on the boxes. More power to him..if he can get paid millions for a good attitude.. Why not?
Normally the market tells you that you stayed at the party too long.. in his case, found a squad that has different, more subtle objectives than winning bike races,or even closely contesting them.. It's a puzzle to me, but I don't have $5, 000,000+ for Froome to do a Gran Fondo in Australia!! I hope he gets the t-shirt and maybe a participation medal and stuffed Kangaroo toy..he lost weight for going fast on the flats? Like I said it's all a mystery to me.. Hope he goes firecracker and gets a podium at a big race..his chances of being on the boxes after 3 weeks at any of them look remote... all we can hope for is that Cavendish is asking for advice.. Froome is the cycling equivalent to a wet blanket..
Sometimes the market is wrong and easily hoodwinked when it sees a golden goose who then births a turd. Money makes you crazy. The market is not rational, but opportunistic and at times gets burned.
 
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in his case, found a squad that has different, more subtle objectives than winning bike races,or even closely contesting them.
A teleological argument on a cycling forum. Gosh. "They're crap at winning races, therefore they aim to not even try to win races." Somewhat undermined by Daddy Moneybags' threat to sue the UCI if he wasn't given the opportunity to not win the biggest races, but there you go.

We've been down this route with Vaughters and EF. Can't we just accept they're a crap team with a crap owner employing crap management and crap riders?
 
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In the US we had some cycling silliness.. First w Rock Racing.. guy put a bunch of money into bike racing but forgot about public demand..part of the business was selling jeans!! I never could find Carerra jeans that didn't make me look fat!!! in the drain..
and then Tinkoff which thought that he could create market demand.. again didn't work.. US Postal Service was on a different market wave, saw the overnight, express delivery market as something it wasn't.. Rolled out team to raise brand awareness.. FedEx, DHL and UPS didn't flinch from the competition.. Bike racing as a market driver.. may have worked but I didn't see it.. Tourism jump from Israeli cycling campaign? Again I didn't see it, but I wasn't looking.. UAE,Saudi feedback? Maybe to early to tell..
No matter my criticism of paying Froome as your spokes model ..can anything really compare to Qatar? Froome' s few million looks less silly all the time!!!!
 
A teleological argument on a cycling forum. Gosh. "They're crap at winning races, therefore they aim to not even try to win races." Somewhat undermined by Daddy Moneybags' threat to sue the UCI if he wasn't given the opportunity to not win the biggest races, but there you go.

We've been down this route with Vaughters and EF. Can't we just accept they're a crap team with a crap owner employing crap management and crap riders?
To the bolded, this signifies a historical process that arrives at its foreseen conclusion, like from Giotto to Michelangelo. Yet this is in the reverse.
 
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Most of the great champions of cycling do like Valverde or Nibali, Basso or Contador:

„I cannot win a GT any more. But I can finish 7th. That‘s not enough for me. So now I quit.“.

Froome and Rebellin (RIP) are rare examples that it is possible to do it the other way.

Froome never was a primadonna, or something like that. He always worked as a domestique when teammates were stronger. Not many champions would do this.

This man (Froome) is a real fighter, and we’ve seen the best of his spirit since his crash.

He didn‘t fully convince me by his 4 TdFs. He convinced me afterwards.

I‘m really happy Froome is still around, and still an active pro. Terribly, the unforgotten and super talented Bjorg Lambrecht (RIP) died in a crash that was much less spectacular and violent than Froome‘s.
 
Froome never was a primadonna, or something like that. He always worked as a domestique when teammates were stronger. Not many champions would do this.
Tour de France, 2012, La Toussuire. Hello, Donna.

What is great about Froome is that he stabs his team-mates in the back behind the curtains where the fans can't see and then smiles in public.
 
In the US we had some cycling silliness.. First w Rock Racing.. guy put a bunch of money into bike racing but forgot about public demand..part of the business was selling jeans!! I never could find Carerra jeans that didn't make me look fat!!! in the drain..
and then Tinkoff which thought that he could create market demand.. again didn't work.. US Postal Service was on a different market wave, saw the overnight, express delivery market as something it wasn't.. Rolled out team to raise brand awareness.. FedEx, DHL and UPS didn't flinch from the competition.. Bike racing as a market driver.. may have worked but I didn't see it.. Tourism jump from Israeli cycling campaign? Again I didn't see it, but I wasn't looking.. UAE,Saudi feedback? Maybe to early to tell..
No matter my criticism of paying Froome as your spokes model ..can anything really compare to Qatar? Froome' s few million looks less silly all the time!!!!
Cycling "sells" where there is cycling culture, which is diminishing, as modern life prizes fun over sacrifice. Sacrifice was once a way to escape another hard life. By contrast now in the Western World the mines and factories are a thing of the past. They've been "delocalized" and so the draw to suffer, risk crashing and piss in your chamois seems less appealing. Social media on the cell phone rules amongst today's youth.
 
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Most of the great champions of cycling do like Valverde or Nibali, Basso or Contador:

„I cannot win a GT any more. But I can finish 7th. That‘s not enough for me. So now I quit.“.

Froome and Rebellin (RIP) are rare examples that it is possible to do it the other way.

Froome never was a primadonna, or something like that. He always worked as a domestique when teammates were stronger. Not many champions would do this.

This man (Froome) is a real fighter, and we’ve seen the best of his spirit since his crash.

He didn‘t fully convince me by his 4 TdFs. He convinced me afterwards.

I‘m really happy Froome is still around, and still an active pro. Terribly, the unforgotten and super talented Bjorg Lambrecht (RIP) died in a crash that was much less spectacular and violent than Froome‘s.
I agree.

I have just watched 3rd stage of Down Under, the one with a hard climb close to the end. Froome was one of the worst of the stage, and I wanted to see if something happend... he worked all the day and was positioingn team up the front in some key points...His teammate Corbin Strong, 5th in GC then, crashed 20 km away from the finish, and Froome didnt hesitate to stop, talk with the team and help Corbin pushing hard. They lost one minute with the crash and the peloton was flying...Corbin managed to lost just 3 minutes, and he is not a climber, so Froome s work was good.

The same at M_W clasicc. He was witbout team, 267 Km, raining, quite cold...He dont like that. and quite strong headwind all day. He didnt train for this race, just he was there to train.

A 29 breakaway went early and he was adviser to be conservative at the begining...he did and was a mistake, the break got the stage,,,but he jump with another 5 riders to chase the break,,and he was so strong than just Ben Hill follow him...they cut 9 minutes to the break since they went to the peloton, and maneged to finish 8th and 12th, at a similar time... I think is remarkable this kind of spirit of fight, in a race nobody except in Australia is following, just to get a good training (more than 7 hard hours, not easy training following the peloton.

He is at the point he had to stay at this part of the season....He is not as Valverde, Evans,... who were always at a good level. He has not objetives at the first part of the season... Pogacar or Vingegard didnt start....Froome started past season in final March at a similar level, and he was quite good at the end of May. He just es training at warm weather in Australia, Africa...

I hope anyway he will be a little bit better in Rwanda, and he has freedom there. But anyway he will go there to train in altitude into a race, Not the level of Australia, but some good riders there.
 
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Reckon the local's hoodwinked Froome - The Melb to Warrambool race which harks back to 1895 ( originally was a handicap race till around 30 years ago ) is mostly won by going early into breakaways.

Finally, Froome with Plapp in the Victorian countryside, so he should have a fair idea of his current level.
 
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Tour du Rwanda has 21,000 meters of altitude gain over 8 stages it's totally brutal, perfect for Froome.

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FoctMTDXoAA7IFs
 
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