[Closed] Froome - Are you feeling the love?

That's not the rule though. Plenty of people born abroad who consider themselves the nationality of their parents.

I doubt many people who are born and grow up "abroad" would consider themselves to be the nationality of their parents, unless it's an ex-pat type arrangement.

I couldn't care less where he's from. He's riding like most of us could only dream of.

A good transcript of today's press conference on (shudder) the Daily Mail:
http://www.****/sport/othersports/article-2363979/Chris-Froome-frustrated-doping-claims-Tour-France-2013--FULL-TRANSCRIPT.html?ITO=socialnet-twitter-dmailsports&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=socialnet-twitter-dmailsports

I couldn't care less where he's from. He's riding like most of us could only dream of.

Most?!

If he's eligible for SPOTY that's all that matters...shame that tennis bloke will win it whatever anyone else does this year.

s me particularly, but Millar and Wiggins were both shaped by a British upbringing, something you can't say about Froome. In a way, I think it's a shame he's not riding as a Kenyan.

Millar was brought up in Hong Kong.

I really can't believe some of the comments on this thread.

I couldn't care less where he's from. He's riding like [s]most[/s] all of us could only dream of.

And by a considerable margin!

As an aside: I rode up Alpe d'Huez last Friday. I wonder how much quicker Froome will be?

I couldn't care less where he's from. He's riding like most of us could only dream of.

This. I consider myself fit, ride 150 - 250 miles a week, rode my first Cat 4 race at the weekend, got destroyed, totally ripped to pieces. the level that guys like Froome operate on are beyond what I can comprehend tbh.

Millar was brought up in Hong Kong.

When he was thirteen, he went to a British school in what was then a British colony, moving back to England when he was about eighteen. As I said, an ex-pat arrangement.

.

We (Mrs Kenny and I) really warmed to Froome last year in the Vuelta. It was his reaction when losing that was so impressive. No toys getting chucked out the pram and no storming off refusing to do interviews. He accepted defeat gracefully and behaved like the perfect gentleman and sportsman (and therefore proving he is British I guess 🙂 ).

It's always a better test of a man's character when things aren't going well.

If, or when, he wins overall in Paris next Sunday we'll be raising a wee glass of something to toast his victory.

shame that tennis bloke will win it whatever anyone else does this year.

He's riding like most of us could only dream of.

even though he was born and raised at altitude you still watch him thinking - thats not right. especially as all the main contenders crack 1/2 a mountain back. he might be off the smack but because of the record of the tour, and pro road cycling, you cant get that excited just sceptical...

he might be off the smack but because of the record of the tour, and pro road cycling, you cant get that excited just sceptical...

In that case why bother watching. If you're not prepared to believe the spectacle can be achieved clean, don't watch it.

I've been a big fan of Wiggo for a fair few years now, and perhaps in reaction to what went down at the Tour last year, started this season with a fairly negative view of Froomy.

BUT

I know Wiggo wasn't fighting fit and picked up an injury, but it never seemed entirely clear that he was going to accept the new team order and ride for Froome in the Tour this year. Last year Froomy rode strongly for the team and was a big factor in Wiggo taking the yellow onto the Champs Elysee, and apart from that one moment in the mountains when he looked over his shoulder at Wiggo, did his job, and did it right. I'm far from convinced that a fully fit Wiggo would be working for Froome with the same attitude, and I'm not even 100% convinced that his illness / injury wasn't a touch convenient in terms of putting some of those awkward questions to bed.

Unreasonable to expect a rider of the status of Wiggo to be playing the part of a domestique? I'd remind you of all those shots we had last last year of Team Sky's Mark Cavendish making his way back up from the team car with fuel for the leader..

Froome showed last year that he can ride for someone else, and do it well, with one glitch on one stage. Wiggo has shown nothing of that himself.

So, yeah, I'm warming to Chris Froome.

And for those criticising Wiggins riding style in the lasy years tour...

That was surely a result of picking a team strategy that took advantage of Wiggins strengths. Wiggins is good at TT's so lets use them to get him extra time and hope he climbs well enough.

Froome is a better climber so lets pick a strategy that uses that as an advantage.

Quite simple really but it presents the impression that Froome is dead exciting to watch and Wiggins isn't. Wiggins was following the company line which was don't forget what's happening when you're in the mountains and churn out a 40mph average when you're by yourself.

I'm alot more comfortable with Froome's replies than I ever was with the "Never controlled positive" school of denial that was LA, but when I saw him pull away from Quintana the first time, I said to the missus "Christ, he's going to get a hard time for that trick"

Still, it doesn't get better than this:
A Brit (yes!)
In yellow
On Mt Ventoux
On the 14 juillet

Still, it doesn't get better than this: A Brit (yes!) in yellow on Ventoux on the 14 juillet

That was surely a result of picking a team strategy that took advantage of Wiggins strengths. Wiggins is good at TT's so lets use them to get him extra time and hope he climbs well enough.

Quite. It was what Indurain did, and it worked well enough for him...

🙂

i support riders on their merits

I suppose you live in Surrey and suppourt Manchester United?

I doubt many people who are born and grow up "abroad" would consider themselves to be the nationality of their parents, unless it's an ex-pat type arrangement.

Fake statistics but probbaly true......

There are more Irish bar in New York than there are Irish people in Ireland.
There are more Pzzerias in Chicago than there are Italians in Italy
There are more Hamburger outlets in the USA than people in Hamburg.

Every Ammerican considders themselves Irish, even Obama made a song and dance about it!

There's more scottish people outside scotland than in it!

[quote=samuri ]There's more scottish people outside scotland than in it!

Not true they just make a lot of noise

Quite simple really but it presents the impression that Froome is dead exciting to watch and Wiggins isn't.

I find downhill racing a bit the same TBH, but atleast there's a shedload of skill on display and a good chance of a crash.

*IMHO obviously

I reckon that's why the UCI allow funny bikes in TTs, so the media can talk about the technology used and people will take and publish shots of the bikes.

Quite simple really but it presents the impression that Froome is dead exciting to watch and Wiggins isn't.

It's all relative, surely. Cycling along/up a road is pretty darn boring to do and to watch. You can pretend it's exciting, but it's not. It's occasionally a smidge more interesting when there's a few guys sprinting for a win or when there's a crash otherwise it's like watching a marathon or a 50k walk. You can marvel at the fitness but calling it exciting is a bit of a stretch.

If you dont think it was exciting to see the Sky train drop the peleton then see Froome drop Contador like he was school boy and then see him do the same to Quintana then get the back under the bridge

PS TT is dull fair point

Downhill racing is dull unless you want to see crash or Rob Warner is commentating on Danny hart

It's all relative, surely. Cycling along/up a road is pretty darn boring to do and to watch. You can pretend it's exciting, but it's not. It's occasionally a smidge more interesting when there's a few guys sprinting for a win or when there's a crash otherwise it's like watching a marathon or a 50k walk. You can marvel at the fitness but calling it exciting is a bit of a stretch.

It depends how embedded you are in the sport - the subtleties will be lost to the casual observer. I've got friends (considerably brighter friends 😉 ) who know their chess who find some chess matches incredibly exciting to watch and it's all completely lost on me.

True convert. I'm actually following the tour closely this year, due to peer pressure (my mates love it), but it's not doing it for me. The tactical elements seem greatly overplayed. I watched the stage where Froome got separated from his team and all the drama that seemed to cause. I thought 'if that was me, i'd just pretend to be a member of the team in front' and that's what it looked like he did. No biggie.

Junkyard, if finding road racing boring makes me a troll, then i guess i am. Is there an official list of boring sports i'm allowed to not enjoy you could send my way? 😉

The bottom line is that last year Sky put together a team and a strategy to win the TdF based on proposed route. That takes nothing away from Brad Wiggins preparations and taking advantage of his strengths in the time trials whilst utilising the team including Chris Froome to defend on all stages including the mountains.

Once this year's Tour route was announced it would have been obvious to the Sky management that the same team selection and strategy would not have been appropriate if they wanted to take the yellow jersey once more. The number of difficult mountain stages and lack of flat times trial mileage made Chris Froome the obvious choice as team leader.

All rhetoric aside from any source it was always going to be obvious that Wiggins wouldn't have been much use to helping Chris Froome in this year's Tour even if he had been 100% fit apart from maybe the team time trial. There would be nothing to be gained from seeing the former Tour winner fetching bottles and then being shelled out the back on stages like Mont Ventoux which he almost would have been once Froome took up the necessary attack.

The one thing that does occur to me is that Chris Froome is 28 so should be capable of winning the Tour for maybe the next 3 or 4 years given continued team support. Wiggins is 33 and has already stated that he doesn't see the Tour as a priority in future years. I'm not sure what his Sky contract is but on that basis I wouldn't be surprised to see him moving on from Sky in the closed season like Cavendish did last year.

Junkyard, if finding road racing boring makes me a troll, then i guess i am. Is there an official list of boring sports i'm allowed to not enjoy you could send my way?

I guess one does need to get it but surely when Froome was tearing them all a new set of legs you were excited or at least involved astounded even 😉
TBH it will be along wait to see someone attack with that much devastation tbh.....

I thought 'if that was me, i'd just pretend to be a member of the team in front' and that's what it looked like he did. No biggie.

But the problem with that is he has to cover all the attacks himself. That's the strategic part. If He'd had a couple of mates with him, when Quintana had gone they could have tried to raise the tempo as a group or even had Porte etc counterattack so they could try to redline Quintana and then reel him back. Alone, a rider has to do all of that himself.

There would be nothing to be gained from seeing the former Tour winner fetching bottles and then being shelled out the back on stages like Mont Ventoux which he almost would have been once Froome took up the necessary attack.

I don't get that. What would there be that's any different about a former Tour winner riding for his team leader as opposed to a normal super-domestique? That's team bike racing. I think, though, that Wiggins probably felt the same as you hence his comments that he might be the team leader. If he had, I think it's unlikely he'd have been fetching bottles any more than Froome did last year, he'd have been dragging Froome up the climbs like Porte has been.

I know Wiggo wasn't fighting fit and picked up an injury, but it never seemed entirely clear that he was going to accept the new team order and ride for Froome in the Tour this year.

I dunno. He did it in the Olympics. Ok so he knew he couldn't win that, but the same is true for this tour.

I'd have picked him if he'd been fit, for two reasons. One is psychological - it shows how strong your team is that you can have last year's winner as a domestique AND this year's favourite. The other is that he would have been pretty useful riding on the front to reel in breaks or attacks in the mountains, allowing Froome to be unleashed at the right time.

As for last year's tactics - I found the mountain stages pretty exciting. It wasn't four blokes riding up a mountain, it was a massive display of strength which had the competition wilting. I cheered each time someone fell off the back, just like I cheered yesterday when Froom attacked.

I liked the man carrying the pig and the duck.

He looked like he was having a great time.

Was that a duck? I though one of the trotters had fell off.

EDIT, & why was he bothering to carry them?

When a topic is on a sport i find dull [ F1 , rugby for example] what i do is refrain from opening the thread let alone posting it to tell them i dont like the sport they are discussing and saying it is dull
HTH

Topic is about Froome love. I don't love him, but he sure can pedal up a hill. I didn't post on the semi official TDF threads out of respect 😆 .

So, the TT stages are officially boring? Is it because they try to go as fast as they can? And the other stages are exciting because they use tactics to win as slowly as possible?

surely when Froome was tearing them all a new set of legs you were excited or at least involved astounded even

Actually i was enjoying the roadside idiots much more. The guy with the plastic boar in one hand and what looked like a toy pistol in the other did it for me 😀

Edit: ^^ seems it could have been a duck or a trotter - genuine intrigue 😀

well that is what will happen if you spend a day in the sun with only beer for company...a lesson for all of us

What I like is the fact the folks in the camper vans watch it on the telly get out clap as they go past then go watch it on the telly

No interest in going to see it "live" though the real speeds are incredible

I watched it in Brighton once.. It all comes & go's very quickly.

I did not however think to take a pig with me with a loose foot, or a Duck. 🙂

So, the TT stages are officially boring?

looked like a boar and the head/neck of a duck to me, presumably the duck broke with all the excitment.

Surely the trick watching it live is to get onto a steep bit near the top of a climb - then they won't all come flying past like the peloton does on a fast, flat stage?

well if you want a good look of Schleck that is a good plan [ up or down]

Froome will still fly past though

What speed do you reckon he was doing up that hill?

Flippin massive speed, his cadence too at times was just a blur.

It was great to watch.

EDIT, I dont think it was the self same stage as any other year, but it would be interesting to know times of start of climb to end of climb for comparison.

Personally I thought Sagans wheelie topped the man with the plastic boar & the yellow devil, oh yes & Froome is ace but not hugely lovable is he?

What speed do you reckon he was doing up that hill?

Rough calcs looking at the timer on my hard disc recorder put it at around 62 minutes for the official 20.8 kilometre climb to the top which yields an average speed of 20.1 kph or 12.6 mph.

About twice as fast as me and my mates last year or Cadel Evans this 🙂

It's all relative, surely. Cycling along/up a road is pretty darn boring to do and to watch. You can pretend it's exciting, but it's not. It's occasionally a smidge more interesting when there's a few guys sprinting for a win or when there's a crash otherwise it's like watching a marathon or a 50k walk. You can marvel at the fitness but calling it exciting is a bit of a stretch.

you obviously have no empathy, with cycling-- maybe F1 is more your thing......

I went out on my bike, beasted myself up one hill to get in the mood then sat on the sofa watching for 3hours.

At various points the rest of the family came in (none are fans) and stayed.

For me it's the most impressive sporting feat I've ever seen - makes Mo Farrar look like a child in comparison.

In yellow
Iconic stage
100th TDF
Could have played the time/sensible card
Nearly killed himself (I've heard he needed 5mins O2?)
Magnificent display of balls and aggressive riding
Nice and quiet off the bike
No stupid haircut/tattoos

Brilliant

There would be nothing to be gained from seeing the former Tour winner fetching bottles and then being shelled out the back on stages like Mont Ventoux which he almost would have been once Froome took up the necessary attack.

There is no way Wiggins would have been "shelled out the back" if he had the same form as last year.

Assuming Wiggins was also sat behind Porte (like Froome was able to last year) then he would have probably been 2nd or 3rd on the stage. He wouldn't have been able to stay with Froomes acceleration but he would have probably lost less than a minute. Ventoux is steep but is not Giro/Vuelta steep and its long so it suits Wiggins "TT to the top" style on the climb. As a reference last year Wiggins beat Nibali in the mountains and he is widely regarded as the second best rider at the moment after Froome, he is also the only rider to beat Froome is a stage race this year.

Wiggins isn't there because he is a moody git and if on form genuinely capable of challenging Froome. After the Giro he either genuinely didn't have the form or he told Sky he couldn't promise to play the compliant domestique role and Sky didn't want the hassle of last year where the infighting had the potential to cost them the tour.

Ironically they would probably have prefered the infighing now to distract the journos from the constant assumption that Sky must be doping.

Most importantly - I saw Didi running along. Yay!

There is no way Wiggins would have been "shelled out the back" if he had the same form as last year.

Assuming Wiggins was also sat behind Porte (like Froome was able to last year) then he would have probably been 2nd or 3rd on the stage. He wouldn't have been able to stay with Froomes acceleration but he would have probably lost less than a minute. Ventoux is steep but is not Giro/Vuelta steep and its long so it suits Wiggins "TT to the top" style on the climb. As a reference last year Wiggins beat Nibali in the mountains and he is widely regarded as the second best rider at the moment after Froome, he is also the only rider to beat Froome is a stage race this year.

A moot point maybe and I'm prepared to accept that you may be right but if Wiggins had been playing the domestique role he may well have had to bury himself a la Kennaugh and Porte in order to launch Froome to victory. In that case no way would he have been steadily cruising up the climb in the same group as Contador etc.

Richie Porte finished 2:49 back from Froome and had obviously learned his lesson from stage 8 where he went too hard instead of easing off and saving himself for future support duties.

It may well have been of course that Wiggins would have been a lot further up the GC due to his performance in the time trial so Sky may well have been hedging their bets to have Wiggins in reserve just in case Froome got in to trouble.

Don't get me wrong I am a Wiggins fan, I just don't think it would have been anywhere near like last year with the roles reversed as the circumstances are completely different.

I wonder if WADA will take Brailsford up on his invitation for an official to embed themselves with the team to monitor training etc. I doubt that even that would be enough to satisfy some people though!

Total respect for the Froome, before yesterday I had my doubts but CRIKEY !!
That was massive..

S.P.O.T.Y candidate ??

Probably not ..

A moot point maybe and I'm prepared to accept that you may be right but if Wiggins had been playing the domestique role he may well have had to bury himself a la Kennaugh and Porte in order to launch Froome to victory. In that case no way would he have been steadily cruising up the climb in the same group as Contador etc.

What you're missing here is that Kennaugh and Porte were burying themselves because they're not as good as Froome, Contador etc. Wiggins (with last year's form) could have set the pace on the front of the group whilst still cruising.

As for the assertion up there that this would be a more significant win because the big names are here - are you claiming that Contador without steak is better than Nibali?

S.P.O.T.Y candidate ??

SPOTY only goes to participants of sports shown on the BBC. No olympics this years, so no cycling. The most he can hope for is making the shortlist.

I recall watching SPOTY 1998 and despite there being several british world champs that year (some of which dominated their chosen sport) the winner was Michael ***ing Owen! Firstly he didn't win anything that year (has he ever?) and secondly, he can barely put two words together and comes across as having a personality vacuum.

[img] [/img]

I like him more since he did the Disco Stu celebration. Clearly more of a sense of humour than I imagined.

Lotsa Froome lurve here.

That climb was incredible.

What exactly was in those 'Food' bags they took at 10k to go??

Loving Froome's riding but I'll have to get over my man crush on Porte before I become a fan haha!

No respect for wiggo no more after he decided to not help froome-dog this year ! Injured? Yeh,right!

What exactly was in those 'Food' bags they took at 10k to go??

weren't they suggesting in the commentary that it wasn't strictly allowed to have a food stop there? but such an indiscretion was regularly overlooked?

Apparently ASO permittted it because of the hot weather combined with the length of the stage.
Sky merely took full advantage of it, unlike other teams.

So the food bags were stuffed with haribos?

What speed do you reckon he was doing up that hill?

This is Laurens ten Dam's strava ride from yesterday, and he didn't come first although he did get KOM.

http://app.strava.com/activities/67057155#1287916836

Just over an hour at 13.3 mph.

I dont think it was the self same stage as any other year, but it would be interesting to know times of start of climb to end of climb for comparison.

Ten Dam is on Strava, his time for the segment Bedoin to Summit was 1hr 1min (13.2 mph). Froome finished 1 min 53 ahead.

I've got to say that I'm a big fan of Froome ever since his Vuelta tussle with Contador a couple of years ago. At the moment he's looking by far the best ride rider in the peloton with or without his team to support him.

I've just looked at the Cycling News website to watch Froome's interviews from today and I'm amazed at some of the crap spouted on the comments sections regarding doping. As far as some of those guys are concerned it seems that whatever Sky do, they're always going to be accusing them of doping and it's easy to see why the likes of Froome, Brailsford and Wiggins last year get so pissed off with getting questioned about it in virtually every interview.
One comment on there is that there's no hard evidence, no anecdotal evidence and no circumstantial evidence that they're doping and that until proven otherwise they must be clean. That's the way I'm thinking about it anyway.

What you're missing here is that Kennaugh and Porte were burying themselves because they're not as good as Froome, Contador etc. Wiggins (with last year's form) could have set the pace on the front of the group whilst still cruising.

Richie Porte finished 51 seconds behind Froome on Stage 8 with Contador nearly a full minute further back.

He also finished 4th in the time trial only 1:21 back from Tony Martin and 54 secs in front of Contador. All this on top of his domestique duties for Froome.

I'm pretty certain that if Porte were the leader of a team as strong as say Saxobank Tinkoff he would be a lot further up the GC than Contador and would probably be Froome's greatest rival.

Wiggins may well have been good at setting the pace on the front for much of the climb but I doubt that he would have had Froome's or even Porte's level of sustained acceleration to break Contador, Valverde et al.

I was discussing this at work today and the general agreement is that Contador is a little less of a rider than he was before (when everyone else is on top form). None of the other vaunted GC contenders are big climbers or big climbers on form. I thought Schleck might be a shock on some stages but unless he's keeping his powder dry for Alpe d'Huez, he's obviously doing what his dad recommended and looking to retire early.

the truth seems to be that now the sweet shop has been shut for a lot of these people , their 'performances' are just like everyone elses' !!

Most importantly - I saw Didi running along. Yay!

I think he had sponsors' logos on his top
It's ruined the whole sport for me

Didi has (I believe) almost always been sponsored. Mainly by LUK clutches, who also sponsored Hans. Which is good.
[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]

I'm feeling the Froome love. He's let his riding do all the talking and been very humble and generous when being interviewed. He's the antithesis of Wiggins, which for me is another reason to like him even more. Yesterday's stage will go down as a tour classic, and he's achieved this with a team who are struggling with injury and form, unlike last year's efforts.

SPOTY only goes to participants of sports shown on the BBC. No olympics this years, so no cycling. The most he can hope for is making the shortlist.

Like when Cav won it for winning the Green jersey in 2011?

Short memory!

Richie Porte finished 51 seconds behind Froome on Stage 8 with Contador nearly a full minute further back.

He also finished 4th in the time trial only 1:21 back from Tony Martin and 54 secs in front of Contador. All this on top of his domestique duties for Froome.

I'm pretty certain that if Porte were the leader of a team as strong as say Saxobank Tinkoff he would be a lot further up the GC than Contador and would probably be Froome's greatest rival.

Wiggins may well have been good at setting the pace on the front for much of the climb but I doubt that he would have had Froome's or even Porte's level of sustained acceleration to break Contador, Valverde et al.

Fair enough on Porte maybe being better than I suggested - however Wiggins is still a better climber than him - as discussed above, he was the second best climber last year, and I've yet to see anything to suggest that anybody not there last year is climbing better this year than he was last year. Where exactly did Porte accelerate to break anybody?

aracer - hard to say really as Porte is riding in support of Froome, but when he accelerated on Ventoux only Froome and Contador went with him - then he looked round and smiled. When Froome went Porte sat up of course, his day's work done, so who knows what he'd have done as a protected man.

yes i did not think he did anything beyond ride super fast tempo which wiggo would have held. Porte that is not froome he could not have held on to that as i dont think anyone can currently

SPOTY only goes to participants of sports shown on the BBC.

I recall watching SPOTY 1998 and despite there being several british world champs that year (some of which dominated their chosen sport) the winner was Michael ***ing Owen! Firstly he didn't win anything that year

1998, argentina? "that" goal?

the game that was only on ITV?

CaptainFlashheart - Member

I think he had sponsors' logos on his top
It's ruined the whole sport for me

Didi has (I believe) almost always been sponsored. Mainly by LUK clutches, who also sponsored Hans. Which is good

I still think accelerating is over rated. The quickest way to the top of a mountain is to ride a steady speed. As demonstrated by lots of people on Ventoux, you don't have to attack to drop people.

I think its psychological as much as anything....seeing a rival accelerate away cant be good for the spirit.
Also the person accelerating away gets to prevent his rival sucking his wheel for any significant time while he increases the tempo....which is what Froome did, accelerated away then settled into a faster tempo than before without allowing Contador the benefit of a tow.

aracer:

I still think accelerating is over rated. The quickest way to the top of a mountain is to ride a steady speed. As demonstrated by lots of people on Ventoux, you don't have to attack to drop people.

I can see where you are coming from with this and if it were say a time trial I would probably agree that the fastest way up the mountain would be a steady climb. However, we are actually talking about a race here where other factors are involved.

Consider this; If Froome, Wiggins or Contador for instance were the fastest up any particular mountain, why would they benefit from having a team mate pace them for part or all of the climb? Surely they would all just start off at the bottom at whatever pace they could manage and the fastest rider would then just outstrip all the rest?

Obviously that isn't the case and witness Froome's three attempts to drop Quintana each time sprinting out of the saddle I think. On the first two occasions Quintana managed to match Froome's acceleration to get back on to his back wheel and then just resume at Froome's pace.

On the third attempt Quintana couldn't match Froome's acceleration and just had to settle down to the pace he could manage to the top while Froome rode away. Froome also then settled down once more and rode to the top to take 30 seconds out of Quintana.

Do you think Froome could have achieved a similar result if he had just cruised up to Quintana initially and then carried on at a similar pace? You may argue that Quintana had weakened himself by the earlier accelerations that he did to break away from the pack and if he had just maintained his optimum pace all the way up the result may have been very similar.

I think you would probably be right in that assumption but obviously this is a race not a time trial where tactics and positioning are all important, mentally as well as physically as deviant has asserted.

Like when Cav won it for winning the Green jersey in 2011?

Short memory!

Yes, i have a poor memory but recall BBC2 showing some road cycling that year.

1998, argentina? "that" goal?

the game that was only on ITV?

So he wins a goal? (BBC covered half the matches including highlights of the games it didn't broadcast live)

Dougie Lampkin was a double world champ that year (to go along with the many others he'd won previously) and Carl Fogarty won his 3rd WSB title in 98. I can't recall the others, but there were several other world beaters not even on the shortlist.

I think that the media are asking these drug questions because:

1. It is the first TDF after Armstrong was caught.
2. Froome is very impressive.

And because Froome is looking so good, it is not a really close race - therefore there is a 3:

3. They dont have much else to write about and hope that a little controversy will increase circulation.

Previous Tours were often won by 5 minutes and not that close. Mind you riders tended to blow up in a big way back then, so even leads of 4 mins were not safe till the mountains and TTs had passed. Not riderds dont tend to blow so much so while Froome does not have it in the bag, it is hard for them to spend to much time writing about possible attacks and clawing back time etc.