Froomey vs Pog and Vinge

[BahamontesPhantom]

How does Chris Froome do if he’s at his peak the last 3 or 4 years ?
He has a strong team of Thomas, Porte etc, can the marginal gains climbing train triumph over these aliens ?

 

[Heston]

2025 he would probably have a close fight with Lipo for 3rd.

2024 he gets 3rd ahead of Remco. 2022 he probably beats G too.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

2025 he would probably have a close fight with Lipo for 3rd.

2024 he gets 3rd ahead of Remco. 2022 he probably beats G too.

here we have Thomas working for Froome.
I think if 35 year old Thomas can be ‘only’ 7 minutes behind Vingo, a prime Froome can be much closer to the big two, but don’t know how close.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

it's hard to compare just w/kg: Froomey was much slower but the peleton in Froome's time was much slower in general (today the nutrition is better and bikes are almost frictionless). In terms of relative gaps Vingegaard and Pogacar in their best years were more dominant vs the field than Froome so here is your answer.

 

[YavorD]

With they way they ride today (not talking about w/kg), I think Froome wouldn't get one 3rd, at best (talking about 2022-2025).
Froome was really strong on the early mountain stages and struggled in the 3rd week despite his team riding rather defensively. A lot of hilly/medium mountain stages were nothing burger 10-12 years ago and today they ride it full gas, often attacking.
If Froome was struggling in the 3rd week with a rather passive riding, he would be literally destroyed nowadays IMO.
So yeah, 1 podium at most.
In 2020 he would be fighting for the win, I think.

 

[CyclistAbi]

AFAIK Froome hasn't given up yet and maybe we'll get to see it.

 

[Tanakka]

AFAIK Froome hasn't given up yet and maybe we'll get to see it.

Domenico Pozzovivo, coming back at 43 after being retired for a year, scored more UCI points (80) in two races than Froome did in 2020- 2021-2022-2023-2024-2025 combined (66).

Domenico Pozzovivo

Domenico Pozzovivo (born 1982-11-30 in Policoro) is a professional road racing cyclist from Italy, currently riding for Solution Tech NIPPO Rali. His best results are winning GC Giro del Trentino and winning a stage in Giro d'Italia.

www.procyclingstats.com

 

[Ilmaestro99]

If froome did pocagar watts he would be crashing on every corner uphill due to lack of ability to control his own power

 

[CyclistAbi]

Domenico Pozzovivo, coming back at 43 after being retired for a year, scored more UCI points (80) in two races than Froome did in 2020- 2021-2022-2023-2024-2025 combined (66).

Domenico Pozzovivo

Domenico Pozzovivo (born 1982-11-30 in Policoro) is a professional road racing cyclist from Italy, currently riding for Solution Tech NIPPO Rali. His best results are winning GC Giro del Trentino and winning a stage in Giro d'Italia.

www.procyclingstats.com

Froome is not yet 43, though.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

Froome can only manage one podium in the last few years ?
I think that’s very harsh on the secretary eagle

 

[VO2 Max]

If we talk about living in a bit of a golden age (maybe we're coming out of it as Roglic fades and Remco perhaps not getting where we expected; maybe it's just getting starting with Seixas v Pog v Ving) then it's normal that there have to be non-golden ages. To me, the decade or so following Conatador's +ve was a pretty weak time - that's not Froome or Sky's fault and they cleaned up very well, but 2017 winning by 57" from Urán and we ask if he can triumph over Pogačar?

2020 for sure he has an outside shot because of how Jumbo rode and Pog not anywhere near this current level yet. Maybe a few 3rd places if he could settle into the mindset that Geraint had in 2022 and accept being 'best of the rest' but if in this scenario he's already a four time winner then mentally that's very difficult for a rider to accept.

 

[Wyndbrook]

Maybe people are fasinated by it or just plain bored, but to me all these cross generation comparision attempts are pointless and meaningless.
Frome was best GC rider of his era full stop.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

Maybe people are fasinated by it or just plain bored, but to me all these cross generation comparision attempts are pointless and meaningless.
Frome was best GC rider of his era full stop.

Froome is 4 years older than Roglic, it’s not really like comparing Pogacar with Bartali.

 

[Peyresourde]

In my opinion, peak Froome could have had the following results (without problems and the races staying largely similar even with him included and a few more carbs):

2020 Tour: 3rd, but only because Porte lost time in the crosswinds
2021 Tour: 2nd
2022 Tour: 3rd (Thomas was very consistent, but did not show any single performance better than peak Froome)
2023 Tour: 4th
2024 Tour: 6th at most, maybe worse
2025 Tour: 5th

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

In my opinion, peak Froome could have had the following results (without problems and the races staying largely similar even with him included and a few more carbs):

2020 Tour: 3rd, but only because Porte lost time in the crosswinds
2021 Tour: 2nd
2022 Tour: 3rd (Thomas was very consistent, but did not show any single performance better than peak Froome)
2023 Tour: 4th
2024 Tour: 6th at most, maybe worse
2025 Tour: 5th

Peak Froome can’t beat Landa or Yates in to 6th in 2024 ?
Why do you think he could beat Vingegaard in 2021 but can’t beat them in 2024 ?

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

A guy who won 7 grand tours can only beat Richie Porte who never won any because he lost time in crosswinds? This forum hates Froome

Peak Thomas is still not as good as peak Froome, far from it, but it sounds like a peak Froome can only eek out 3rd from an old Geraint?

 

[Peyresourde]

Peak Froome can’t beat Landa or Yates in to 6th in 2024 ?
Why do you think he could beat Vingegaard in 2021 but can’t beat them in 2024 ?

If you give him the extra watts everyone else had that year, he could have beaten them. But I based my answer on the following methodology:

Froome gets more carbs, so he has better consistency over 3 weeks and can hold a high pace for a longer time, but I have assumed that his peak climbing level in terms of watts would have stayed similar to 2013-2016.

And so these are the placements he might have had.

A guy who won 7 grand tours can only beat Richie Porte who never won any because he lost time in crosswinds? This forum hates Froome

Porte already showed a similar climbing level to Froome in 2016 and 2017, maybe even higher for fresh efforts. He just always failed in GTs for one reason or another and in 2020 he finally did a whole GT consistently. I don't see where Froome would have taken time on him except for the crosswinds.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

If you give him the extra watts everyone else had that year, he could have beaten them. But I based my answer on the following methodology:

Froome gets more carbs, so he has better consistency over 3 weeks and can hold a high pace for a longer time, but I have assumed that his peak climbing level in terms of watts would have stayed similar to 2013-2016.

And so these are the placements he might have had.


Porte already showed a similar climbing level to Froome in 2016 and 2017, maybe even higher for fresh efforts. He just always failed in GTs for one reason or another and in 2020 he finally did a whole GT consistently. I don't see where Froome would have taken time on him except for the crosswinds.

Extra watts? Carbs?
I just can’t see that Froome is further away than Porte or Thomas or Landa..one grand tour between them, that surely just doesn’t make sense?
Froome at this point is ways ahead of Pogacar in grand tours

 

[YavorD]

Extra watts? Carbs?
I just can’t see that Froome is further away than Porte or Thomas or Landa..one grand tour between them, that surely just doesn’t make sense?
Froome at this point is ways ahead of Pogacar in grand tours

Competition matters mate, competition matters a lot.
Swap Quintana/Uran/Bardet with Vingegaard and Froome doesn't win a single Tour.
I fail to see where Froome would gain any time on Vingegaard and Vingegaard crushes him in week 3, like Quintana did


Not Froome's fault, of course.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

Competition matters mate, competition matters a lot.
Swap Quintana/Uran/Bardet with Vingegaard and Froome doesn't win a single Tour.
I fail to see where Froome would gain any time on Vingegaard and Vingegaard crushes him in week 3, like Quintana did


Not Froome's fault, of course.

Vingegaard might beat him but Thomas, Porte? Landa?
Froome was a better time trialist than vingegaard too

 

[Tim Cahill]

El Perro was no virgin, he wins in 2020 after a small increase in performance due to whatever the *** these guys are doing these days, then gets progressively worse due to old age. They had Tao Geoghegan Hart who nobody has heard from before or since looking like Pantani.