[Closed] Froome going for Vuelta GC

Feel sorry for him really. He looked great at the Tour, now he's knackered from riding the Tour and will be coming up against a returning Alberto Contador.

Make sense, Cav and Greipell co-existed on T-mobile for a while by doing mostly seperate events.

"I'll be riding for the GC, but if one of my team-mates shows that they're in a better place to win the race then I'll happily work for them."

Ouch.

"I'll be riding for the GC, but if one of my team-mates shows that they're in a better place to win the race then I'll happily work for them."

I'm not sure I can handle another British road win this year. 🙂

if one of my team-mates shows that they're in a better place to win the race then I'll happily work for them

Just like he did in the TdF then

I'm not sure I can handle another British road win this year.

Good luck to him, he certainly deserves it. Or he will, if he wins it.

sar·casm [sahr-kaz-uhm]
noun
1. harsh or bitter derision or irony.
2. a sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark: a review full of sarcasms.

Feel sorry for him really. He looked great at the Tour, now he's knackered from riding the Tour and will be coming up against a returning Alberto Contador.

He didn't look particularly knackered at the Olympic ITT. He had less of a hard build-up to the Tour than Wiggins cos he missed out on Paris-Nice, so could well still have juice in the tank. And remember that Bertie might be a little bit off his previous form, due to having to be more careful about which butcher he uses. *cough*

Should be great fun to watch, can't wait to see what Froome can do when they let him off the lead in the mountains.

can't wait to see what Froome can do when they let him off the lead in the mountains.

Hopefully bugger all. He showed a lack of respect to Wiggins during the tour and with little comments like the one in the OP's article. And his girlfriend is a tool.

I started following his girlfriend on twitter

😐

Wonder what he'll do if he's got a stronger team mate who's a minute and a half down on him and likely to lose another minute on the penultimate stage though?

Should be great fun to watch, can't wait to see what Froome can do when they let him off the lead in the mountains.

Mehhh, I think he'll struggle, but needs enough rope to hang himself to prove it.

The few times he showed he could ride away from Wiggins (the Go/Slow incident where he didn't drop Nibali, and the daydreaming incident after they did), he'd been dropped on earlier climbs and had to be nursed back only to miraculously recover.

He ducked out of the road race once it was clear they weren't winning.

The cynic in me thinks all those events were him ditching team orders to help others (Wiggo or Cav) in order to conserve energy for an attach on Wiggins later in the stage or the Time trial respectively.

I'd like him to win, and I'd like him to do it graciously (possibly with Wiggins helping like sprinting team mates often do as re-payment), but on the evidence so far I don't think it's going to happen, either winning or graciously.

He ducked out of the road race once it was clear [s]they weren't winning[/s] [i]he'd ridden his arse into the ground by dragging 50 other riders 100k to Putney[/i].

More like it

I don't think you've got anything to worry about on that score.

I don't know what you mean. He's as British as Mike Catt, Kevin Pietersen or Dan Parks.

Andy

he'd ridden his arse into the ground by dragging 50 other riders 100k to Putney.

Which race were you watching? Stannard did more work on the front and he was supposed to be leadout!

Slightly puzzled. Wiggins sits on the back of a pack and he's strategic. Froome sits on the back and takes his turn ahead of Wiggins and he's somehow shit. Nobody will ever know who was better in the TdF out of Wiggins and Froome because, shock-horror, Froome was paid to ride for Bradley.

His girlfriend quite correctly suggests his ambitions have been put on hold for the team as was seen in the Vuelta last year. I honestly think if the team had wanted him to win the TdF he would have but that's cycling. He could have been a captain in a team like AG2R, Europcar or Movistar but chose to play a supporting role at Sky. His choice and probably better for him in the long run.

Well it was Brailsford who decided that Wiggins had a better chance than Froome in the TdF and we all know he knows nothing.

can't wait to see what Froome can do when they let him off the lead in the mountains.
Hopefully bugger all. He showed a lack of respect to Wiggins during the tour and with little comments like the one in the OP's article. And his girlfriend is a tool.

^^^^ this!

Unprofessional on the tour IMO.

Honestly, anyone who follows a cyclists girlfriend on twitter needs to have a serious word with themselves, FFS get a grip!

Yes, his gf comes across as a bitter tool, but his ability at the big mountain stages is evident. Unprofessional? maybe, but he's fairly young and IMO you need to be a bit arrogant/unprofessional, call it what you want to then become a big hitter. I seem to remember a young Contador giving it the beans in the Pyrenees to his team leader, Armstrong, and comparitively, Froomes kick was nothing! And look where that got Contador the following year....a team based around him.

He was employed to perform a task. He had a role. He whinged then his girlfriend whinged on his behalf.

They should have let him off the leash up the mountains and then I reckon we'd have seen his fire go out.
Very mercenary. The sooner he's out of Team Sky the better.

^ this

MSP - Member
Honestly, anyone who follows a cyclists girlfriend on twitter needs to have a serious word with themselves, FFS get a grip!

I have a cyclists girlfriend following me on twitter. What does that mean? Danny Hart's FWIW.

Bugger double post. Crappy laptop.

Good rider, but comes across as immature. It takes more than being quick some of the time to make a team work for you and win the tour. No one man has ever won the tour or the vuelta. In fact, especially the vuelta.

I mean, we'd all happily give brad a reach around but could you say the same for Froome? That's all I'm saying.

I don't know what you mean. He's as British as Mike Catt, Kevin Pietersen or Dan Parks.

I think I've yet to see a single article or hear any bit of commentary on Froome has hasn't included the phrase "Kenyan-born". Yet you hardly ever see or hear "Belgian-born" with reference to Wiggo. Is it just lazy commentary?

I can't wait to see Froome off the leash, be it to a great success or not, racer's got to race!

He had a whine, but did his job. If it was wasn't wiggo he was riding for most people wouldn't give a shite. It doesn't detract from wiggo's achievements. I can't imagine Brailsford relying on sentiment, he will back the strongest horse at the time and work to his plans. I'm a cycling fan; and i'm happy to see any rider reach their potential. I want them to win races, not be my mate.

Armstrong wasn't Contadors team leader at Astana.
I also think that Contador will beat everybody with ease at the Vuelta.
Good to see him back in my opinion.

grum - Member
can't wait to see what Froome can do when they let him off the lead in the mountains.
Hopefully bugger all. He showed a lack of respect to Wiggins during the tour and with little comments like the one in the OP's article. And his girlfriend is a tool.

Exactly this. Too many similarities to Andy Schleck. Hope he redeems himself by riding well and with respect for others in the Vuelta.

His conduct at the tour didn't really strike me as being as bad as everyone else seems to have found it.....anyway, do people really think that he is going to beat Bertie?! He was insanely strong in the Giro last year after he had tested positive, and the cycnic in me thinks that even if he is technically clean at the Vuelta, he's probably been training for the last twelve months juiced up to the gills....I can possibly see Froome as best of the rest if he isn't too fatigued, but I genuinely can't see him being within 5 minutes of El Pistolero.

Wow - I thought it was just Italians and Spaniards who argued about which of their world class cyclists is the best. The big time is [s]on it's way[/s] here for British road cycling.
p.s. I'm a Bradley manfan myself. Looking forward to Froome leaving Sky and being beaten in tdf next year.

Wow - I thought it was just Italians and Spaniards who argued about which of their world class cyclists is the best. The big time is on it's way here for British road cycling.

Great, isn't it? 😀

I don't really get all the bitching, Froome did his job for Wiggins just fine, and I suspect most of the crap was just journalists stirring, as is their wont. I'd like to see what Froome can actually do out of scientific interest more than anything. If he explodes and gets dumped off the back that'll be illuminating, but obviously I'd prefer him to pull everyone's legs off and bring us home another Grand Tour to cap an incredible year. Either way it's likely to make for good racing, and that's what we all want, right?

Can't see him leaving Sky myself. I certainly can't see a brit winner of the tour next year...

No one man has ever won the tour or the vuelta

Remind me about Greg Lemond's ADR team in 1989

MSP - Member

Honestly, anyone who follows a cyclists girlfriend on twitter needs to have a serious word with themselves, FFS get a grip!

Besides. It could be worse, I could watch TV.

Cath Wiggins was fantastic value on Twitter over the last few years

+1

Froome, Wiggo, Cav et al are all just tools for the job. There's little sentiment at that level and they're paid a specific wage to perform a specific task.

Froome had just as much team 'protection' as Wiggo throughout each stage, until they got to that point where it was his turn to earn his wage. He did this and paced his team leader to the top of the hills.

Froome is a good climber, without doubt, but he is part of a team, and there is no way he would have been up there in GC without the team playing its part. This can all be said of Wiggo, and any other GC contender. For example, it was only when Evans got a good team around him that he finally took top step; it is a team sport.

Froome is a good climber, without doubt, but he is part of a team, and there is no way he would have been up there in GC without the team playing its part. This can all be said of Wiggo, and any other GC contender. For example, it was only when Evans got a good team around him that he finally took top step; it is a team sport.

Absolutely spot on

Can't we just support Froome?

Can't we just support Froome?

On STW forums? New here?

Personally I'd like to see him on another team as team lead with some quality support to see how good he can be. I'd love to see a fight between Contador, Wiggins, Froome, Schleck and Nibali next year with the gloves off. My money is on Contador, but it'd be good viewing nonetheless.

This thread is for girls
Conduct shmonduct, Twitter shmitter

Would have been interesting to see if he had been 'let off the lease' and mashed his way up the moutains. He could easily have knackered himself and ended up losing time the following days so it might have not been as clean cut that he would have beaten Wiggins anyway.

Good Sky team around both Wiggins and Froome. It was almost a shmae the bickering started and put a bit of a spoiler on the TdF result.