Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

Page 773 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar

Is Froome over the hill?

  • Yes.

    Votes: 42 34.4%

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

    Votes: 65 53.3%

  • No he is totally winning the Vuelta

    Votes: 28 23.0%
  • Total voters
    122
wirral

wirral

Mar 28, 2011
3,290
302
14,180
Rackham said:
I find the whole Froome situation... strange? I mean look at his palmarès & now look at how literally no one seems to care, not even his 'fans' (who used to be quite vocal on social media at least) seem to follow his races anymore. For anyone like me with a quasi ghoulish interest in where he finishes, you need to wait until PCS updates their final GC classification after a stage to find out what happened to him. It's not like his team's Twitter account is overflowing with info either.

And that's another thing, i.e. when he eventually does retire (sooner the better for his sake) literally no one is going to notice. No fanfare, no huge goodbye, nothing. A man with 4 TdF's who might as well still be the same anonymous rider he was before his transformation at Sky.
Click to expand...
Wherever a situation seems illogical and motivations for an individual's decsions seem odd, it is because the observer is not in possession of the full facts.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cantpedal and Rackham
Rackham

Rackham

Jul 16, 2015
5,374
13,954
23,180
Red Rick said:
Bruyneel: "I'm sure the team would be happy to pay Froome half his contract up front to just retire right now"
Click to expand...

It's good to see Bruyneel speak about the Froome situation because hardly anyone else does anymore. Cycling also isn't like other sports where former champs can wind down their careers in smaller clubs or whatever (even in tennis someone like Andy Murray can still win the occasional match & get in the news), because in cycling once a rider is dropped from the main bunch, that's it, he's off the tv screen. So the whole 'big name good for exposure' angle never really works in world tour racing.

This was his interview pre-stage yesterday:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iW78tlCSmo


It's just.... awkward.
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

Feb 20, 2012
53,931
44,320
28,180
Rackham said:
It's good to see Bruyneel speak about the Froome situation because hardly anyone else does anymore. Cycling also isn't like other sports where former champs can wind down their careers in smaller clubs or whatever (even in tennis someone like Andy Murray can still win the occasional match & get in the news), because in cycling once a rider is dropped from the main bunch, that's it, he's off the tv screen. So the whole 'big name good for exposure' angle never really works in world tour racing.

This was his interview pre-stage yesterday:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iW78tlCSmo


It's just.... awkward.
Click to expand...
Actually, I think normally it's much easier for cycling to wind down but it requires you to simply still be a capable domestique or top 200 rider in the world. Froome in tennis terms wouldn't even hack it in challengers anymore.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Koronin, Nick2413 and Gigs_98
Rackham

Rackham

Jul 16, 2015
5,374
13,954
23,180
Red Rick said:
Actually, I think normally it's much easier for cycling to wind down but it requires you to simply still be a capable domestique or top 200 rider in the world. Froome in tennis terms wouldn't even hack it in challengers anymore.
Click to expand...

Froome seemed better in the 2020 Tour de l'Ain than he is now (i.e. he was better with Ineos after his crash than he has been with Israel since his transfer, except for that one Alpe stage in last year's TdF).

That's something no journalist has ever dared ask him about in an interview.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Koronin
Red Rick

Red Rick

Feb 20, 2012
53,931
44,320
28,180
Rackham said:
Froome seemed better in the 2020 Tour de l'Ain than he is now (i.e. he was better with Ineos after his crash than he has been with Israel since his transfer, except for that one Alpe stage in last year's TdF).

That's something no journalist has ever dared ask him about in an interview.
Click to expand...
I mean he super obviously doesn't give a *** anymore.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Escarabajo and red_flanders
Taxus4a

Taxus4a

Aug 12, 2012
6,996
1,011
20,680
Rackham said:
Froome seemed better in the 2020 Tour de l'Ain than he is now (i.e. he was better with Ineos after his crash than he has been with Israel since his transfer, except for that one Alpe stage in last year's TdF).

That's something no journalist has ever dared ask him about in an interview.
Click to expand...
Tour de L Ain was in August that year. He is always peaking for sunmer and he is always stronger with hot weather. He has never been stronger than last year Tour de France since his crash, with Big difference. He arraived Foix stage with Enric Más and better than Bardet, who were fighting GC , and that is the race with more level of the year. Could he improve that level this year?? It doesnt look, maybe Covid pay him that price, but I cant put It appart...we have to wait.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ilmaestro99
Taxus4a

Taxus4a

Aug 12, 2012
6,996
1,011
20,680
By the way...he said in a recent brief interview before last stage of Romandie he is likely to join now a training camp with the team in Andorra, and later race Mercan Tour Classics and maybe Suisse...so he didnt mentioned Hungary...He is announced to be there with Fuglsang, Hermans and the sprinters of the team.
 
Last edited:
Gigs_98

Gigs_98

Feb 18, 2015
13,820
9,810
28,180
Red Rick said:
Actually, I think normally it's much easier for cycling to wind down but it requires you to simply still be a capable domestique or top 200 rider in the world. Froome in tennis terms wouldn't even hack it in challengers anymore.
Click to expand...
Yeah, he probably got signed with the intention that if he can't be a gc contender anymore, he will at least be a highly visible rider going for gt top tens or stage wins. A lot like what Nibali did after 2019.

Israel surely just couldn't imagine him being this bad. I mean, even the Tour stage that always gets mentioned wasn't that great. He probably doesn't even make it to the break if he doesn't get picked up by the Pidcock train on the Galibier descent. And then he got third out of what was a lackluster breakaway for a TdF mountain stage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Koronin, JimPanzen, StryderHells and 2 others
Red Rick

Red Rick

Feb 20, 2012
53,931
44,320
28,180
Gigs_98 said:
Yeah, he probably got signed with the intention that if he can't be a gc contender anymore, he will at least be a highly visible rider going for gt top tens or stage wins. A lot like what Nibali did after 2019.

Israel surely just couldn't imagine him being this bad. I mean, even the Tour stage that always gets mentioned wasn't that great. He probably doesn't even make it to the break if he doesn't get picked up by the Pidcock train on the Galibier descent. And then he got third out of what was a lackluster breakaway for a TdF mountain stage.
Click to expand...
The craziest part is that his best post crash performance was literally with Ineos still in 2020. Particularly in the Vuelta, but he also did some solid turns in Tour del l'Ain
 
Rackham

Rackham

Jul 16, 2015
5,374
13,954
23,180
Red Rick said:
The craziest part is that his best post crash performance was literally with Ineos still in 2020. Particularly in the Vuelta, but he also did some solid turns in Tour del l'Ain
Click to expand...

In his defense, Froome isn't the only rider to perform worse at Israel. Teuns for example is a total no-show since his transfer.

But sure, at Ineos he had the benefit of two things: better team structure... & he was 3 years younger. He's almost 38, so for a GC rider in particular that's already way past the average expiry date.

That's just looking at it as it is, i.e. ignoring the crash which has since been supplemented by long covid as well on the "this is why I'm getting dropped" current year Froomometer excuse scale.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Koronin
Y

yaco

Jun 20, 2015
15,363
6,027
28,180
Red Rick said:
The craziest part is that his best post crash performance was literally with Ineos still in 2020. Particularly in the Vuelta, but he also did some solid turns in Tour del l'Ain
Click to expand...

I am certain that he got the pins removed from his leg after the 2020 season.
 
B

bigcog

Jul 9, 2012
2,614
285
11,880
yaco said:
I am certain that he got the pins removed from his leg after the 2020 season.
Click to expand...
He did, a screw/pin in leg metalwork was rubbing on his quadricep and he had an operation to remove it at the end of 2020. He's been a lot worse since then, so maybe that caused further scar tissue or damage, plus increasing age of course.
 
  • Like
  • Wow
Reactions: Koronin, Sandisfan and yaco
T

tonymikejoe

Aug 1, 2018
259
532
10,630
FroomeWagon said:
Let's hope 2024 turns out to be a more productive year for him.
Click to expand...

Spot on, and ironically the man himself, Chris Froome, agrees.
In an interview at the start of the year Froome admitted 2023 probably was not the year he could go for Tour de France victory number five, yet the ultimate dream of another yellow jersey was still alive.
That's it then.
All eyes turn to 2024 for the best opportunity for Froome to join the five-time winners of the Tour..
 
  • Haha
  • Love
  • Wow
Reactions: bigcog, Scarponi, rallybanana and 2 others
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom