Wiggo definitely a household name after Beijing. Was probably second only to Hoy if the general public had to name a (current) British cyclist, even pre-Tour win.

Being increasingly asked by non-cycling friends about Froome though.

With regards to nationality, I think this whole “where were they born”, “where were their parents born” thing is irrelevant.

To me, Wiggins, Millar and Cavendish are British cyclists because that’s where they started out from.

Millar started competative cycling when he was living with his mum in Maidenhead. He was in the High Wycombe CC and represented BC West Thames as a junior. Wiggins was with the Archer RC (a now defunct? West London club) and did a lot of his early racing at Herne Hill or on the Hayes bypass. I still ride with people who used to ride with, coach or manage them when they were kids.

As a cyclist I see them as riders who have come up through the local scene. They used to ride the same races any of us could ride, visit the same café/pub stops and moan about the traffic on British roads. It just that through talent and hard work they’ve reached the top of their sport.

When I started follwing cycling, sprints were won by exotic Italians with expensive hairstyles. Tours were won by Americans who used funny bar extensions. I still find it hard to believe they are now dominated by the type of guy you might meet on a club run from Uxbridge to Reading.

A guy who did all his early cycling in Africa and never posted a good time on the H25/12 just doesn’t feel the same.

More importantly, I can’t find a single picture of Froome topless anywhere on the internet. Wtf?

Realman –

Let’s hope it stays that way

I can’t see Froome winning that especially as another flawed hero has now slain his Wimbledon dragon.

I think you are right here – I can’t believe I’m saying this but I think as a personality I prefer Murray to Froome. I wonder how much of that is because he has very publicly failed (if you can call losing finals of a grand slam failing!)and risen again or because I have watched him grow up into the finished article he is now.

Maybe it is just the fake Brit thing and I’m more jingoistic than I thought – he does fall into the same camp as Pieterson, Hick, Budd, Rusedski etc. British cycling must be in a bit of a quandary – Froome is clearly a cycling superstar, possibly with the credentials to usurp Simpson,Millar (Robert),Boardman,Hoy,Pendleton,Cavendish & Wiggins. But he will never be a superstar off the bike and does not have a potential ambassador persona. He is not the face to launch a million mamils.

Let’s hope it stays that way

How do you expect us to make up our minds without the proper evidence? Dear god.

To me, Wiggins, Millar and Cavendish are British cyclists because that’s where they started out from.

Millar started competative cycling when he was living with his mum in Maidenhead. He was in the High Wycombe CC and represented BC West Thames as a junior. Wiggins was with the Archer RC (a now defunct? West London club) and did a lot of his early racing at Herne Hill or on the Hayes bypass. I still ride with people who used to ride with, coach or manage them when they were kids.

As a cyclist I see them as riders who have come up through the local scene. They used to ride the same races any of us could ride, visit the same café/pub stops and moan about the traffic on British roads. It just that through talent and hard work they’ve reached the top of their sport.

When I started follwing cycling, sprints were won by exotic Italians with expensive hairstyles. Tours were won by Americans who used funny bar extensions. I still find it hard to believe they are now dominated by the type of guy you might meet on a club run from Uxbridge to Reading.

A guy who did all his early cycling in Africa and never posted a good time on the H25/12 just doesn’t feel the same.

Nicely put – agree completely. God, I am actually jingoistic! Must go out and buy a Daily Mail!

It’d be like the contents of a raw fish finger bent around a coat hanger

His missus was tweeting, or whatever is that people do but i seem to remember him stating (or intimating, or refusing to deny or something) on camera that he could have won at least one stage (the one where he admittedly dragged wiggo up the climb to finish in the town) by a big enough margin to take the GC. (that said I can’t be ar5ed doing the research to prove me right, or otherwise). Anyhoo it was certainly no secret that he was less than chuffed.

I’m pretty sure anyone would have been a bit narked to not be able to win things they could, but that’s professional cycling. However, the whole twitter-missus thing kicked off when Wiggins’ wife thanked the entire sky train apart from Froome on Twitter. Both of their other halves should either keep it on the party line or keep out of it.

As an aside, I’m unsure why “personality” has to equate to “is a bit of a gobshite/PR liability”.

Much prefer Froome’s unassuming air to Wiggins’ arrogance. He’s quite dry as well. Was good to see Wiggins win le tour but I don’t really support cyclists by nationality, just by who’s interesting to watch. Froome definitely wins that one.

How long before we see a genuinely mixed race cyclist prodigy in the style of Tiger Woods or Lewis Hamilton?

I think the Eugenics experiment is at Stage three

Movistar – Saxo – Belkin will all start to look to get their rider on the podium so I’d imagine there won’t be much chance of them teaming up if there’s a chance it launches an opponent ahead of them

Yes we are fast approaching the point – I assume he will get more time on the TT where the others are more concerned with each other [ given the small gaps] than they are by the guy 5 minutes ahead of them

Topless froome shudders

I’m saving judgement till I see, dude might be so ripped he can clean his cycling clothing with his abs..

Altaz.

I’ll take your word for it on what started the twitter spat

I guess it cos we only really see these people through the lens of them media

e.g.
Steven Gerrard: erm…likeermm done good, boys worked hard, like, ermm, gaffer, ermm result erm*

Balotelli: Car crash, fist fight, why me, sulkio, super models,*

They’ve got a few seconds of exposure and they can either give the party line or voice an opinion – Who knows what they’re really like but I know which one makes for better telly.

*taken verbatim from two recent interviews in leading publications

At the end of the day for me he’s a Kenyan (wouldn’t it have been better for him to be the first Kenyan to win the TDF?) but he’s a brilliant, aggressive rider so get’s my full appreciation.

Warming to Froome a little, and maybe that’s cos without Brad around he has actually been able to remotely eke a smile out once or twice. He is, without doubt, the most exceptional talent on a bike out there at the moment by a good margin, which considering he makes supposedly natural climbers like Quintana and Contador look positively butch, is ridiculous! Wiggins looks anorexic when at his peak, Froome looks like he’s bulimic as well!

Thing is though (and I’d say Dave Brailsford is probably happier for this), Froome just isn’t the character that Wiggins is off the bike. Everyone would love to go for a pint with Wiggo, and he’s got that kind of mad look in his eye that says “one way or another, this is going to be memorable”. He’d probably get you into a fight, or locked up or something, but you’d certainly have stories to tell your grand kids! Froome isn’t even the kind of guy that would be tapping his watch saying “it’s 10pm, I’d better go home, I’ve got an early start in the morning”, he’s the kind of guy you’d not even bother asking out for a pint anyway cos you know he’d never show up!

The comment about Wiggins being flawed earlier is spot on, and that’s why he’s popular. Froome is just too good! He’s already dominating like only a certain Texan has in recent years, and look how popular he was/isn’t…

I do love Froome’s style on the bike though, totally unnatural and brings hope to everyone else that its all about effort and hard graft rather than a natural ability. His ability to time his breaks to perfection and with such pace to distance his rivals are incredible too. Definitely way more interesting to watch than Wiggo…

I wonder if froome has the stamina to crack all 3 grand tours

He couldn’t even do two last year so it looks unlikely. Especially with the current trend in Italy and Spain to make the route “a bit tricky”.

And all this Froome would beat Wiggins talk is a bit premature. He is certainly the best climber now but that doesn’t guarantee he would have won last year. He still may come unstuck this.

Wiggins style, that was evident up to Peyragudes last year, was to do the minimum in the mountains to maintain his lead, to ride to the plan. Froome wanted to go for glory and chase down Valverde but to Wiggins this was an unnecessary risk and he was much more confident he could take minutes in the TT. He also didn’t want to burn out all his domestiques for the flat stages to come.

Compare this to Froome up to Ax 3 Domains who went for the glory, dragged Porte with him who obviously went deep into the red and then the next day he and the whole team were in serious dificulty. Who knows what effect the glory hunting on Ventoux will have cost him.

It would be a different race with Wiggins in it but history shows it is no less effective a way to win races.

That said I am right behind Froome this year.

imo froome at ‘race weight’ looks a lot less like a famine victim waiting to die than wiggins does

and I’d choose Monaco over Lancashire any day of the week

I bet you can’t det a decent black pudding in monaco

mboy – Member
Froome just isn’t the character that Wiggins is off the bike

You say that like it’s a bad thing.

Compare this to Froome up to Ax 3 Domains who went for the glory, dragged Porte with him who obviously went deep into the red and then the next day he and the whole team were in serious dificulty. Who knows what effect the glory hunting on Ventoux will have cost him.

Rest day today, so no worries.

As for the insinuations of drugs by some people, he could clearly out climb last years winner, it’s not like he’s done a Bjarn Riess and come from a chubby mid pack to winning in 6 months.

Froome is sheer class- both performance-wise and image-wise.

An alien-praying-mantis on the bike, what’s cooler than that?

he probably prefers a nice boerewors anyway

I’m saving judgement till I see, dude might be so ripped he can clean his cycling clothing with his abs..

RealMan saves a rather dire thread 🙂

Overall, yeah, I’m finding that I’m liking Froome in this tour. I like the bold attitude of him hitting the hills and asking the others “what have you got then?”

The attacks he did yesterday were really quite impressive.

I’m liking Froome.

I was suspicious, but his team have suffered like US Postal never did,and he’s been picking his efforts very carefully. (He didn’t chase the echelon for example)

So, I’m just enjoying it for what it is, a guy attacking the other favorites, and putting them to the sword, great to watch! I’ve watched the Ventoux a few times now, it was incredible riding! (that required a bit of oxygen after the finish line)

Also i like the guy off the bike, considered in his answers, modest, quiet, but funny too.

Good on him, hope he can finish it off now

At the end of the day for me he’s a Kenyan (wouldn’t it have been better for him to be the first Kenyan to win the TDF?) but he’s a brilliant, aggressive rider so get’s my full appreciation.

A right bunch of Daily Mail readers on here today 🙄

@the generalist: because this is a harder tour and all the favourites are here

Nibali isn’t.

Anyway, I admire Froome in the same way I admired Cadel Evans in 2011. But given that he is about as British as Evans is Welsh, there’s no particular reason to support him on the basis of nationality.

blah blah blah

i support riders on their merits/attitude and lack of arrogance, nationality is as relevant as shoe size……

I’m thinking, other than the TT, we won’t see Froome on the attack until the last mountain stage next week.

Why? Because they have attacked only twice, both times on mountain top finishes, and both times when there was a chance for a breather afterwards (ok last week was a gamble, but a long downhill finish was likely to keep the GCs together, and so it turned out).

I suspect they will police rather than control the front of the peleton, just be there in case there’s another Saxo style breakout, but let breakaways go, not force the pace too much, try to grab a few TT seconds.

And then with nothing to lose, look to blow the Annecy stage out of the water.

no no no.. ransos, you’ve got that all wrong, hang onto even the slightest thread of Englishness.. you can always hand him back if he “Zola Budd’s”

But given that he is about as British as Evans is Welsh, there’s no particular reason to support him on the basis of nationality.

He’s got British parents right? Sounds British to me.

he probably prefers a nice boerewors anyway

You do know that South Africa is thousands of miles and half a continent away from Kenya don’t you?

He’s got British parents right? Sounds British to me.

Well no, but if it helps you.

It’s not something that bothers 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.

His father and grandfather are British, he has always carried a British passport. He is British, if that matters to you. Personally, I just like him as a rider. Met him last year at the tour. Very unassuming.

His father and grandfather are British, he has always carried a British passport. He is British, if that matters to you. Personally, I just like him as a rider. Met him last year at the tour. Very unassuming.

I have Canadian friends born of British parents and with dual passports. They consider themselves 100% Canadian.

As I say, nationality is surely shaped far more by your upbringing than where you or your parents happen to be born. Froome isn’t British, but that’s no reason to not greatly admire his achievements.

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.

Richie Porte.

And it’s hard every year, less climbing just means faster. Hardest years are when the tour embraces the cobbles!

I have Canadian friends born of British parents and with dual passports. They consider themselves 100% Canadian.

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

Sports people’s nationality should be determined by where they choose to pay tax, rather than where they were born.