Fantastic effort today on Ventoux by Chris Froome, but I’m thinking the UK are not feeling the love like they did for Wiggo last year.
Discuss:
we are not
A more exciting rider to watch [ if you ignore his style] but much less cool
If he goes on to win this years tour it will be a much bigger achievement than what Wiggins did last year.
Yes. He's a more exciting rider to watch.
Froome taking a dump would be more exciting that wiggins riding.
If he goes on to win this years tour it will be a much bigger achievement than what Wiggins did last year.
Agree, and he's doing it in a more impressive way, but I fear the British public will be a bit underwhelmed, and I feel really sorry for him
Maybe it's because Froome has demonstrated that it's obvious that Wiggins wouldn't have won the Tour without Froome to drag him up all the climbs.
Personally I've had enough of Wiggins' peculiar brand of 'cool' and think Froome is a much more grown up a complete rider. Long may it stay so.
if he goes on to win this years tour it will be a much bigger achievement than what Wiggins did last year.
why's that then?
Wiggins was a more lovable/interesting winner than Froome... But also, there's the whole first brit thing.
1) He wasn't really known for the Olympics like Wiggo
2) He isn't outspoken and sweary
3) He still seems to consider himself South African and a resident of Monaco.
I really like Froome, was great to watch him today and an awesome display of riding.
I've no idea why people don't really seem to take to him, not sure what people expect a professional bike rider to do other than be good at riding a bike? Release a hit record? Run a sanctuary for sick kittens?
Really hope he goes all the way to Paris in yellow.
@the generalist: because this is a harder tour and all the favourites are here
Impressive indeed, I'm becoming a fan.
if he goes on to win this years tour it will be a much bigger achievement than what Wiggins did last year.
why's that then?
much harder route and the support team is not as strong. i.e. he doesnt have a rider better than him to hide behind.
and he's ridden with a bit of class, the Wiggins/Skyborg train looked like the won the tour by numbers. I'd say Froome would appeal more to pro cycling fans than the British public.
Yes, really enjoying him ride a seemingly clever race, as well as being really rather good.
[i]He still seems to consider himself South African and a resident of Monaco. [/i]
This.
to paraphrase Blackadder, "About as Scottish as the queen of England's tits"
The British public tend to support British riders.
I don't think Froome has spent more than 20 days total in the UK has he? Even though he is named after thje town that St. Jenson comes from.
But that's not to distract from the fantastic job he's doing this year.
Regardless of nationality, for the yellow jersey to attack like that in the mountains will always get a gold star from me.
Well done .
I think cycling is much less nationalistic than other sports, which I find a good thing. I would never support some one because of the passport or the country they claim. I'm much more interested in personality and achievement than nationality.
"Maybe it's because Froome has demonstrated that it's obvious that Wiggins wouldn't have won the Tour without Froome to drag him up all the climbs"
Did you not SEE Porte's effort today? He broke every other team. And there was more time trialling last year which suited Wiggo more.
Quintana is a beast tho. One to watch.
He still seems to consider himself South African and a resident of Monaco.
Yes, this. I have no problem with foreign-born athletes representing Britain/UK teams (see Wiggo, Mo Farah, half the Scotland rugby team etc.) as long as they at least pay lip service to the idea that their British passport is something other than a flag of convenience. Not so Froomie.
Regardless of nationality, for the yellow jersey to attack like that in the mountains will always get a gold star from me.
And raise a few eyebrows elsewhere. I really, really hope this is real.
Pure class from Froome today, and to be fair he seems like a well rounded, nice guy. I still however, just cant get my head around why he is representing the UK and not South Africa?
Must have something to do with Sky maybe?
I still however, just cant get my head around why he is representing the UK and not [s]South Africa[/s] Kenya?
FTFY. Represented Kenya when he was younger, but then got identified by British Cycling as a prospect and changed allegiance.
After that ride today, I want to have his babies.
(which is physiologically impossible).
IS froome like action man then?
Whats the general consensus on these numbers then:
I really like the chap from what I've seen.
He handled the whole will he won't he team leader debate well I thought, even when wiggins stirred things up. His interviews etc are good, and my goodness the chap can ride a a bike
Froome écrase la course, mais il n'est pas un patron!
Are you insinuating something is awry?
No not a fan at all. Not even remotely British-not that that is the sole reason I support a rider. He also looks absolutely awful on a bike.
Getting a bit of a mancrush for Sagan though!
Froome is clearly an exceptional talent, regardless of doping. I guess it's all down to whether you buy all the marginal gains / good science stuff. It doesn't sound totally improbable and I want to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Still feeling the love here and was out of my seat shouting at the telly when Porte pulled over.
Never have any interest in watching the tour, or any racing actually, so don't really care who wins. Any druggies been kicked out yet?
Great rider,enjoyed watching him this yer
Two different races two different tour's.
I dislike froom as i find him utterly boaring except today.
However everyone keeps saying wiggins' couldn't have done it without froom, but could froom have done what he did today with out Porte.
Im more impressed with porte and garaint than anyone else on the sky team. and though that quintana climbing look so much more natural than frooms.
I'm not an avid road racing although I am paying far more attention now I have a road bike but I quite like him he seems really professional in his interviews and was pretty dam impressive today.
Wiggins was considered to be 'cool' by the public; sideburns, first Brit to win it, outspoken etc. I can't decide it the win / fame has gone to his head a bit (he seems to be spending more time at celeb bashes and hanging out with Paul Weller than cycling). Although according to his wife Wiggins the cyclist is a bit of a tw*t (actual words from the Sky documentary last year).
Didn't look more natural when froome left him behind. I'm feeling the love, he's great to watch, his attacking today was spine tingling stuff. As said earlier, Porte and kennaugh were tremendous today.
I juts can't warm to him. The fact is the field is weak, his main GC rivals Schlek, Contador, etc are all out of form. I like the fact that he attacks but then now I am a fan of Quintana.
Schleck? He was never going to be a GC contender this year.
I've been going nuts for Millar this tour. He's been an exceptional and selfless domestique. I know some haven't forgiven him and fair enough. But he's just doing now because he loves it and he can. Prob only has a few tours left in him, and is enjoying taking it to people for the sake of it.
Have enjoyed Froome though, going with the break away for the hell of it, ruining everyone today on the climb - but he could only do that due to the team tactics, control and planning of Sky, the impressive bit there (as last year with Sky), was sticking to and trusting in the plan.
Quintana, now there, wow, just wow.
And contador ain't out of form, he's out of steak!
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Contador, etc are all out of form.
Well, that's [b]one[/b] way of putting it. "Not as good as he was when he was on the hot sauce" is another.
Curiously, Valverde is riding very well, though it was extremely difficult to take any piti on him when Belkin attacked the other day while he had a mechanical.
Apparent question to Mollema afterwards: "Was it unsportsmanlike against Valverde?"
A: "Valverde has been unsportsmanlike in the past few years"
