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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"
Why the assumption that Contador is no longer "on the sauce"? It's possible to be off form and still be doping.
Impressive ride. Not sure I warm to him or Wiggo or Cav BUT thats no insult to them. I respect their talents and enjoy watching them at work but that also applies to all the other very talented riders.
Although will support my countrymen in priority.
For me how they interview and where and how they choose to live is irrelevant.
Do we expect too much now? We want to love the personality - the result is not enough on its own. I dont recall big mig or bugno or abdujaparov being personalities in the modern reality tv sense. Maybe i am wrong.
Froome is shaping up to be a bit of a monster in the hills, and he seems a good guy. What's not to like?
I'll even go out on a limb here and say that I even quite like his ungainly style. It's distinctive. You can call it ugly. I'd call it quirky.
He'll be less likely to win over the hearts and minds of the general public. Most of which have no interest bike racing. But as a racer he is exciting to watch.
I've been following Laurens ten Dam on Strava. Wish I could ride that fast, truly awesome times
Why the assumption that Contador is no longer "on the sauce"? It's possible to be off form and still be doping.
True, but he's not been as competitive since returning from the naughty step; two possible conclusions:
1) He's now riding clean
2) He's still doping, but not to the same degree.
Latter may be more likely given his history (like Pantani, one could speculate whether he'd [b]ever[/b] ridden clean) but without any actual evidence to back this up, it's no more than rumour/supposition.
True, but he's not been as competitive since returning from the naughty step
Like when he won the Vuelta last year?
Be interesting to see how he does in the Alps towards the end of the Tour.
I felt like I went on a journey with Wiggins. He was an track star then moved to road. I saw him do well, then not live up to hype, then crash, then nail it.
Froome less so. Obviously an amazing rider. To do what he did today but also be able to TT means he will be a worthy winner. Still I don't feel the love.
True, but he's not been as competitive since returning from the naughty step
Apart from winning the Vuelta.
This is the first Tour I have watched properly, getting a lot more into my cycling etc. I understand that Froome pulled Wiggo through last year, or rather team Sky did. But isn't the "racing by numbers" part of the game.
OK maybe team Sky is not as strong as last year but could Froome win it on his own using other riders to pull him along etc. Or is that simply not possible as the team needs to be there. Obviously keeping the support cars etc. Is it actually possible to win the Tour on your own.
Apart from winning the Vuelta.
Still not as dominant as pre-ban (and I might have forgotten he'd won that, but then, [url= http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-in-my-mind-ive-won-seven-grand-tours ]in his mind, he's won seven grand tours[/url])
this :
Froome écrase la course, mais il n'est pas un patron!
Difficult to warm to him. today he smiled on the podium and showed some teeth. I thought his skin would crack. He never shows emotions and rather than making him look cold and calculated à la Armstrong, it makes him lood bland and really boring.
even if i don't warm to him, i really hope it's real, cos' today his little sprint sessions on 10% slopes where quite 'incredible'
I like him. More than Wiggo, less than Cav. But it does seem much more like a race than a scheme this year. Wiggo got the ideal coincidence of the Olympic year and first Brit, and he is more obviously a Brit too.
If the whole Armstrong fallout had happened earlier, I don't think Wiggo would have felt the same love, and I think that will count against Froome and all pro cyclists for years. I don't know if I'll ever believe a winner in a pro bike race is clean again, but I enjoy the racing and the spectacle.
Life ban from all organized sports, repayment of all sponsorship monies, salaries and winnings ought to be the starting point for a doping infringement, with perhaps criminal charges for fraud too.
He is one of the lizard people from V
Can't really swallow the idea that he's british - he's about as British as Zola Budd or Greg Rusedski - but hats off to him for that ride today. And his all-arms-and-legs way of riding gives hope to all of us out here who are either all fingers and thumbs or have two left feet when executing any motor skill that lack of natural grace and poise doesn't mean you can't come good in the end.
Still not as dominant as pre-ban (and I might have forgotten he'd won that, but then, in his mind, he's won seven grand tours)
I'm not trying to have a go but surely (I haven't checked) he's still riding his second GT pre ban after winning the first? I'm expecting some do or die attack but I can't see him overturning Froomes lead all the same. To discount him because he was banned would be fool hardy, whether its 5 or 7 GT's as far as the record books are concerned he's still the best GT rider still riding.
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.
Oh please! Ritchie Porte was on the front for all of a kilometre before Froome shot off like a scalded cat. When did you ever see Wiggins do anything other than wheelsuck Froome's back wheel for mile after mile in last year's tour? Yes, I will a admit that Porte helped lay the foundation for Froome's attack but the two things just don't equate.
I'm also fed up with the ITV4 commentators and everyone else going on about what a great natural climber Quintana is. Is this the great natural climber that has lost over 3 minutes to Froome in 3 mountain stages so far and been utterly crushed on two occasions?
Im not a fan of the Kenyan/South African ,Monaco resident .Prefer to see riders who have come up through the ranks at home
"Valverde has been unsportsmanlike in the past few years"
I think theres even more to this than just the doping ban(s), Matt Rendell (uber cycling geek) mentioned in the ITV podcast that it was payback for a similar move by valverde/movistar against them in the tour de suisse.
Wiggins was the "first" and rode a wave of hype and olympic glory along with being a bit of a character. I dont care what nationality he is or how much emotion he shows to the camera Froome is a far more exciting rider to watch, yes he has a strong team to work for him (and he always credits them) but there is a bit of impulse and panache to his riding, and interesting to see him working with Quintana temporarily to gap the rest of the competition.
I'm also fed up with the ITV4 commentators
that's exactly the sort of hoary cliched drivel Ligget and Sherwen aka Waldorf and Statler have been coming out with for 20+years, alongside "former mountain biker so a great descender on these technical roads", and using the phrases "and you know" and "in this, the sport of professional cycling" as punctuation.
Can't really swallow the idea that he's british - he's about as British as Zola Budd or Greg Rusedski -but hats off to him for that ride today.
Other than the fact that both his parents are British, he was born in what is effectively a British enclave of Kenya and brought up British.
I mean, if you're going to go down that route, Bradley Wiggins was born in Ghent, David Millar was born in Malta...
Where were Bradley Wiggins parents from?
On Froome's nationality:
Froome was born on 20 May 1985 in Nairobi, Kenya,[2] to Kenyan-born mother, Jane, and father Clive, a former hockey player who represented England at under-19 level.[6] His mother's British parents emigrated from Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England to Kenya to run a crop farm.[7][8][9] Froome has two older brothers, Jonathan and Jeremy, who went to Rugby School in Warwickshire, England.[6]
Froome said: "Although I was riding under the Kenyan flag I made it clear that I had always carried a British passport and felt British. It was then we talked about racing under the Union Flag, and we stayed in touch.
Where were Bradley Wiggins parents from?
Mum - London
Dad - Yallourn, Victoria.
Isle of Man is foreign as well ,has its own parliament
So Wiggins is "less" British than Froome? 😉
What's the UK got to do with it? anyone who thinks Wiggins won it for the UK needs to understand it's a team sport and the winner is always the strongest rider helped by the best (multi-nationality) team. put him in a smaller (or all UK) team and he'd have had no chance.
I don't really get patriotism/national pride though.. Just like religion, to me it only causes war/death and suffering
The thought occurs that Robert Millar may still be the only British grand tour jersey winner who was actually born on the British mainland.
I can't get on with Froome, but free watching him today I'm even more inspired to improve on my road bike - inspiring stuff.
My mtb's are slowly being ignored.... :-/
Brought up British? In south Africa? How does that work? What percentage of his time on earth has he actually spent in Britain? Bradley Wiggins only has to open his mouth for you to know that he's British.
Not that it matters - but I thought it odd watching today's coverage that the commentators referred to Darryl Impey as the first African rider to ride in the Tour and then in the next breath they were extolling Froome's virtues as a climber because he'd been born at altitude in Nairobi.
Robert Millar, British? I see Andy Murray is this year too 😉
Robert Millar, British?
Scots by birth; Glaswegian by the grace of God.
Edric 64 - Member
Im not a fan of the Kenyan/South African ,Monaco resident .Prefer to see riders who have come up through the ranks at home
Ian Stannard from Chelmsford for the win?
I believe that Malcolm Elliot (Vuelta sprint jersey winner) was born on the mainland?
I stand corrected on that one.
Still true of the Tour, but then the others are Cav & Wiggo.
I'm warming to Froome a little. I quite like his riding style and his mature interviewing method.
Quintana I like. He looks like a little boy with his glasses on and an old man with them off and he is clearly going to be a climber of great note in the coming years.
oh well if you're gonna get all technical on us....Bradley Wiggins only has to open his mouth for you to know that he's British.
Most of us are born and automatically get a nationality assigned to them, some people through immigration, a country's previous empire building shenanigans and alsorts of other stuff, get a multiple choice. Why does it matter?
Froome seems to be less of a character but a more interesting rider - wiggins owned the TTs but they are dull as dishwater.