Sky/Froome Talk Only (No Way Sky Are Cleans?)

[Winterfold]

something about Froome's performance just isnt right.

The way he is riding you could see him getting on a track bike and catching Brad in the pursuit - and makes me nervous

This kind of performance cannot have been a secret - we would have heard about his numbers

I hope I'm wrong, and maybe there is an answer in how he has responded to his disease and whatever has gone on in recovery that is legit.

But that kind of consistent power doesn't suddenly appear.

 

[Winterfold]

Bummer - because Wiggins was heroic on Sunday - he looked like a man who pushes his physical ability to it's absolute limit and is utterly spent/broken as a result.

And these doubts spoil that.

 

[maltiv]

There will be just as much hostility within the UK towards Sky (as a company and to a lesser extent as a team). I don't like to say things infront of TeamSkyFans and others who support the team and are thoroughly decent spuds, but lets just say the guy that owns Sky is a major bogeyman in the UK and some of us (myself included) would like everything he touches to turn to rust! Infuriatingly, the team appear to have recruited some personable and/or exciting atheletes (Wiggins, Swift, Thomas, EBH, Cavendish?) that make disliking the team more difficult!

I really don't see why you would dislike a team because of its sponsor, that makes absolutely no sense.

 

[The Cobra]

So now Chris Froome himself has revealed the reason behind his transformation.

Its not high cadence, its not rice cakes, its not beetroot juice, its...

O Symmetric chain rings! Gotta get me some of those bad boys fitted to my bike.

@chrisfroome
''To those who have been asking: Yes Bradley and I are using O Symmetric chain rings. I definitely recommend them- they make a big difference!''

 

[Anonymous]

There will be just as much hostility within the UK towards Sky (as a company and to a lesser extent as a team). I don't like to say things infront of TeamSkyFans and others who support the team and are thoroughly decent spuds, but lets just say the guy that owns Sky is a major bogeyman in the UK and some of us (myself included) would like everything he touches to turn to rust! Infuriatingly, the team appear to have recruited some personable and/or exciting atheletes (Wiggins, Swift, Thomas, EBH, Cavendish?) that make disliking the team more difficult!

I dont think much of Murdoch, but i am able to differentiate between the sponsor and the team/riders.

That said, I think while plenty enough people dont like Murdoch, they are perfectly happy (like me), to play around with their flashy sky+ hd box. Most Britons are happy shopping in Primark (Slave labour), pouring chemicals down their drains, eating battery farmed chicken and Eggs, and driving their ozone destroying beat up cars. Murdoch is the least of their worries.

 

[luckyboy]

Man, people are blind in this thread. People just refuse to accept that someone British might dope.

Froome was free to race for the last few kms on Angliru, completely failed to shake off Menchov & Poels and could only come over the line 4th, behind them and therefore missing a crucial time bonus. I'd expect more from a decent climber and time trialist if they were on a similiar diet to what Cobo appears to be on.

Froome on the other hand was let free by Sky, went flat out and failed to even pip Poels & Menchov for vital bonus seconds that meant little to the other riders.

The point isn't that Froome can't drop Menchov, it's that Froome shouldn't even be up there with Menchov.

You must know that Menchov had reason to go for the bonus seconds.

OK, seeing as you want to ignore the fact that he's had injuries and illness

He seems to have ridden a full programme every year of his career. From what I've read, he caught bilharza/schistosomiasis last November, and missed out on the Tour squad because he had to have some follow-up treatment. This year he's ridden from late February to now - 60+ days.

 

[Fergoose]

I really don't see why you would dislike a team because of its sponsor, that makes absolutely no sense.

Silvio Berlusconi and AC Milan
Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys
The Glazer family and Manchester United
UNICEF & Barcelona FC (for a positive spin)

So, while you may be unable to make any sense of it, it’s fairly standard practice in world sports for fans to take into consideration the personalities connected to the ownership side of a team. It’s not appropriate to have a pop at News Corp here at all and was not my intention. The post was placed here as there were repeated and misguided assertions that a failure to assume Froome is doping means you are either racist or blindly in love with Team Sky. Alas, it didn’t seem to work; case in point:

Man, people are blind in this thread. People just refuse to accept that someone British might dope.

People just refuse to accept that others may want a substantial body of information and evidence that points to someone doping, before they lose faith in that rider. We might getting to a tipping point on that front with Froome in the next 72hrs, or we might not.

The point isn't that Froome can't drop Menchov, it's that Froome shouldn't even be up there with Menchov.

A top form Menchov on a title tilt, maybe, maybe not. An underperforming Menchov, sandwiched between Monfort & Fuglsang (both with a hard shift at the TdF in their legs) in the standings, why not?

 

[maltiv]

Silvio Berlusconi and AC Milan
Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys
The Glazer family and Manchester United
UNICEF & Barcelona FC (for a positive spin)

So, while you may be unable to make any sense of it, it’s fairly standard practice in world sports for fans to take into consideration the personalities connected to the ownership side of a team. It’s not appropriate to have a pop at News Corp here at all and was not my intention. The post was placed here as there were repeated and misguided assertions that a failure to assume Froome is doping means you are either racist or blindly in love with Team Sky

That's completely different, a team's sponsor is temporary (usually). Would be quite weird to support team high-road until they got HTC as a sponsor because of not liking HTC, but ok, that's another discussion.

 

[function]

So now Chris Froome himself has revealed the reason behind his transformation.

Its not high cadence, its not rice cakes, its not beetroot juice, its...

O Symmetric chain rings! Gotta get me some of those bad boys fitted to my bike.

@chrisfroome
''To those who have been asking: Yes Bradley and I are using O Symmetric chain rings. I definitely recommend them- they make a big difference!''

... Or maybe he is just doing what he is paid to do, be a spokesman for his sponsors?

 

[Anonymous]

Silvio Berlusconi and AC Milan
Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys
The Glazer family and Manchester United
UNICEF & Barcelona FC (for a positive spin)

Not always true.

Hate Man Utd, therefore, Love the Glazers.
Love Liverpool, therefore hate Hicks and Gillette

 

[luckyboy]

lol wtf? man...

 

[luckyboy]

Whaaaat...

 

[spalco]

If Froome is clean, this is probably one of the most amazing stories of cycling (or maybe even sports in general) ever.

 

[ak-zaaf]

This is getting ridiculous.

 

[La Canaja]

On the pedals for like, what, a minute?

 

[hrotha]

Aaaaand this is why both threads are intertwined.

 

[goggalor]

Who cares? That finish was worth it.

 

[Anonymous]

amazing ride again...like a pheonix

 

[roundabout]

I don't know what to say...

 

[ak-zaaf]

Who cares? That finish was worth it.

Hehehe, true!

 

[spalco]

Seriously, if Froome pulls this off somehow, would this be the biggest underdog win ever? I honestly can't think of anything comparable. Did the bookmakers even offer any odds for Froome before the start of the Vuelta?

 

[luckyboy]

Matt Rendell "the transformation is astonishing"

 

[Ferminal]

I hope that is what clean racing bring us, because wow, it was brilliant.

 

[richtea]

This scenario is getting more unrealistic by the day. Perhaps the field is so weak this year that such feats are feasible, but that seems even more unrealistic.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

This scenario is getting more unrealistic by the day. Perhaps the field is so weak this year that such feats are feasible, but that seems even more unrealistic.

The field is not weak. Two guys are performing at a wildly unexpected level.