This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jul/05/chris-froome-tour-de-france-clique-second-victory

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Chris Froome trying to join tiny clique with second Tour de France victory Chris Froome trying to join tiny clique with second Tour de France victory
(about 2 months later)
It can’t be easy being Chris Froome. You make your breakthrough at the Tour of Spain in 2011, after several years of struggle, and Bradley Wiggins gets in your way. You eventually win the Tour de France, and you have to spend three weeks fending off doping insinuations. You build up to defend your title, and the media are most interested on whether or not Wiggins – Sir Brad by now – is going to support you.It can’t be easy being Chris Froome. You make your breakthrough at the Tour of Spain in 2011, after several years of struggle, and Bradley Wiggins gets in your way. You eventually win the Tour de France, and you have to spend three weeks fending off doping insinuations. You build up to defend your title, and the media are most interested on whether or not Wiggins – Sir Brad by now – is going to support you.
You smash the record for your training climb but instead of feeling utterly chuffed at how well you are going, you are uneasy inside and don’t want to broadcast the fact. That’s because the record-holder was from Texas, had a bit of an issue with cancer a while back, and had an even bigger issue with doping. Still has, comes to that. You smash the record for your training climb but instead of feeling utterly chuffed at how well you are going, you are uneasy inside and don’t want to broadcast the fact. That’s because the record-holder was from Texas, had a bit of an issue with cancer a while back, and had an even bigger issue with doping. Still has, comes to that.
The climb in question is the Col de la Madone, an eight-mile drag that heads inland from Menton under the autoroute viaduct towards the village of Peille, an ascent used by the notorious Michele Ferrari to give Armstrong the chance to test his form. It was on 23 June last year that Froome smashed the record Armstrong set before winning the 1999 Tour.The climb in question is the Col de la Madone, an eight-mile drag that heads inland from Menton under the autoroute viaduct towards the village of Peille, an ascent used by the notorious Michele Ferrari to give Armstrong the chance to test his form. It was on 23 June last year that Froome smashed the record Armstrong set before winning the 1999 Tour.
His team-mate Richie Porte – who Froome has backed to be his main lieutenant at the Tour this year – broke it as well. “We felt almost ashamed,” Froome told the newspaper L’Équipe recently. “We’d beaten Lance’s time, and we knew that people would use it as an argument for saying that we dope.”His team-mate Richie Porte – who Froome has backed to be his main lieutenant at the Tour this year – broke it as well. “We felt almost ashamed,” Froome told the newspaper L’Équipe recently. “We’d beaten Lance’s time, and we knew that people would use it as an argument for saying that we dope.”
The shadow of Armstrong hung over Froome last year and Julys past and present have elided for Froome on the volcanic Mount Teide in Tenerife, his favoured altitude-training haunt. Like the Madone, Armstrong made it famous, while a hint of what awaits him this July came in the Parador hotel on top of the mountain when he bumped into Vincenzo Nibali, who could be a big threat this summer.The shadow of Armstrong hung over Froome last year and Julys past and present have elided for Froome on the volcanic Mount Teide in Tenerife, his favoured altitude-training haunt. Like the Madone, Armstrong made it famous, while a hint of what awaits him this July came in the Parador hotel on top of the mountain when he bumped into Vincenzo Nibali, who could be a big threat this summer.
“In terms of the rivals at the Tour, [Alberto] Contador has shown he’s got very good early-season form,” Froome has said. “He’s definitely going to be up for a fight. But I think someone who’s been lying low and I expect to be probably my biggest rival is Nibali. He was in the room next door to me up in [the training camp in] Tenerife, and he’d been there already for a couple of weeks before I arrived.”“In terms of the rivals at the Tour, [Alberto] Contador has shown he’s got very good early-season form,” Froome has said. “He’s definitely going to be up for a fight. But I think someone who’s been lying low and I expect to be probably my biggest rival is Nibali. He was in the room next door to me up in [the training camp in] Tenerife, and he’d been there already for a couple of weeks before I arrived.”
Unlike Wiggins, Froome has had no issues dealing with his success, and if there has been a difference in approach this season, it is a subtle one, said Dave Brailsford. “Last year we were very keen for him to lead the team in other races but we didn’t feel it was as necessary this year for him to put in time wearing the yellow jersey because there is a lot of experience there now. He’s taken a slightly different trajectory which we all agreed upon.” Froome has had a quieter year, but an emphatic win in the Tour of Romandie bode well.Unlike Wiggins, Froome has had no issues dealing with his success, and if there has been a difference in approach this season, it is a subtle one, said Dave Brailsford. “Last year we were very keen for him to lead the team in other races but we didn’t feel it was as necessary this year for him to put in time wearing the yellow jersey because there is a lot of experience there now. He’s taken a slightly different trajectory which we all agreed upon.” Froome has had a quieter year, but an emphatic win in the Tour of Romandie bode well.
As a character, Froome comes across as a man without a firm identity whose attempts to define one have the unfortunate smack of the nice kid at school who tries too hard. He’s easy meat for the cynics, whether he’s complaining about not being drug-tested very often (methinks the pro cyclist doth protest too much) or putting out a biography with a title that rhymes with that of Wiggins (The Climb/My Time) and a near-identical yellow-clad airbrushed portrait on the cover.As a character, Froome comes across as a man without a firm identity whose attempts to define one have the unfortunate smack of the nice kid at school who tries too hard. He’s easy meat for the cynics, whether he’s complaining about not being drug-tested very often (methinks the pro cyclist doth protest too much) or putting out a biography with a title that rhymes with that of Wiggins (The Climb/My Time) and a near-identical yellow-clad airbrushed portrait on the cover.
Like him or loathe him, Wiggins was easy to latch on to: Olympian, sideburns, foul-mouthed, ‘Kid from Kilburn’, dodgy dad (deceased), cycling Modfather with a shedful of scooters and Fender Stratocasters. You can’t picture Froome calling his critics “idle cunts” and you wonder if he could produce a T-shirt that vaunts a spat with the media, as the 2011 winner, Cadel Evans, did after warning the press that he would decapitate them if they trod on his beloved dog, Molly. It is a better way to earn sympathy than employing “people” who attempt to vet what is written about him, as Froome unfortunately has done.Like him or loathe him, Wiggins was easy to latch on to: Olympian, sideburns, foul-mouthed, ‘Kid from Kilburn’, dodgy dad (deceased), cycling Modfather with a shedful of scooters and Fender Stratocasters. You can’t picture Froome calling his critics “idle cunts” and you wonder if he could produce a T-shirt that vaunts a spat with the media, as the 2011 winner, Cadel Evans, did after warning the press that he would decapitate them if they trod on his beloved dog, Molly. It is a better way to earn sympathy than employing “people” who attempt to vet what is written about him, as Froome unfortunately has done.
Perhaps the best assessment of his physical ability has come from his trainer, Tim Kerrison, who said last year: “We know that Chris can produce phenomenal performances, go so deep that it can affect his ability to recover, and learning to control that was one thing that contributed to his becoming a great stage racer.”Perhaps the best assessment of his physical ability has come from his trainer, Tim Kerrison, who said last year: “We know that Chris can produce phenomenal performances, go so deep that it can affect his ability to recover, and learning to control that was one thing that contributed to his becoming a great stage racer.”
Froome’s climbing style – demented spider meets praying mantis – is his own and parallels from cycling history are harder to find. Carlos Sastre – lest we forget, the winner in 2008 – was amiable, but unspectacular on or off the bike. Jan Ullrich first sprang to prominence as an understudy before dominating the 1997 race, at which point Der Kaiser was predicted to win many more. He didn’t.Froome’s climbing style – demented spider meets praying mantis – is his own and parallels from cycling history are harder to find. Carlos Sastre – lest we forget, the winner in 2008 – was amiable, but unspectacular on or off the bike. Jan Ullrich first sprang to prominence as an understudy before dominating the 1997 race, at which point Der Kaiser was predicted to win many more. He didn’t.
Which brings us to the true significance of this July for Froome: win a second Tour in a row and he becomes one of the tiny clique who have managed the feat. Fail, and he risks joining the ranks of the one-hit wonders.Which brings us to the true significance of this July for Froome: win a second Tour in a row and he becomes one of the tiny clique who have managed the feat. Fail, and he risks joining the ranks of the one-hit wonders.
He may not realise it, because of his lack of knowledge of the sport, but the names of Laurent Fignon, Bernard Thévenet – double winners – rightly have greater resonance than Roger Walkowiak, Lucien Aimar or Bjarne Riis, who emerged with little hinterland and fell away again. Whichever group he joins, Froome will have no option this July but to reveal more of his true character along the way, good or bad.He may not realise it, because of his lack of knowledge of the sport, but the names of Laurent Fignon, Bernard Thévenet – double winners – rightly have greater resonance than Roger Walkowiak, Lucien Aimar or Bjarne Riis, who emerged with little hinterland and fell away again. Whichever group he joins, Froome will have no option this July but to reveal more of his true character along the way, good or bad.