How would YOU beat Froome?
rick_chasey
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You're the DS of the anyonebutSky team.
How d'ya beat Froome and win the Tour??
You're the DS of the anyonebutSky team.
How d'ya beat Froome and win the Tour??
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I did try.
I'm unsure (and ignorant) as to whether the others have the teams (not individuals) to ride in a fashion which can put pressure on Sky. So often when I look up at a major race I see a Sky team and a few individuals from the others. Is that because the individuals in Sky are all better than every other teams individuals or just that as a team they understand racing together.*
If a few teams or even a team can find a way to remove most of his team support and then keep up some attacks then maybe that could break him (for instance a Porte TVJ attacking one after the other). I just can't see the other teams ever allowing this as it risks their GC hopes, which increase if Froome is out.
Sometimes it just has to be a matter of rolling the dice, cycling is a sport loaded with luck and if you roll the dice often enough (or enough teams do) then somebody will get the needed roll. But who is willing to gamble that on beating Sky or leaving with nothing. Money (revenue) means finishing matters and second is better than last in that respect).
None of this is to say Froome can't be beaten but sometimes I feel that smart racing isn't always apparent on the road or from the car
*I read recently that Froome learnt a lot about how to ride in a team and as a team with Sky. This made me wonder how many of the other teams are made up of riders who struggle with the team dynamic beyond the bellowed orders.
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Also, beware of cross winds early in the race!!
Thinking specifically of Nairo, rather than waiting for the Alps I'd try to gain time climbing in the Pyrenees...
The ideal is get Sky in yellow early on and wear them down over the course of the race. Then just try and make the race hard go control - any stage you can get a lot of riders of whatever team up the road help that happen - don't help Sky control the race take a risk. If you have a second GC rider keep them up there and use them wisely. If Froome lets 3-4 GC men get a gap on the lower slopes of a climb then cooperate so it's not easy for him to come back without going into the red. Pretty much what Millar says - if it comes down to a power to weight match over 3km Froome should win.
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He's shown he's more than capable of dealing with both of these things. :roll: Infact if you were Quintana's DS you should be focusing on making sure your man deals with these better. He's come to grief on both in recent years, and crosswinds lost him the tour last year.
Attack Sky often and form some early alliances.
Don't allow Froome to win the Tour on the first MTF.
Sit on the Sky train on a hockey stick stage, especially if it's early in the race. Don't try to out-Sky Sky, just prevent Froome taking time from your leader.
On a "proper"mountain stage, be unpredictable. vary the pace so that they have to start using Thomas, Poels, Lopez etc earlier than they can handle so that it is at least one on one v Froome.
Make sure your TT is as good as it can be.
- @ddraver
Yeah, how did that work out on the road to London? Froome's handling skills still a weak point...
1 crash in the first few days of the tour? I raise you his performance on the cobbles last year, avoiding a crashed contador on a down hill, catching Quintana on a downhill top tube pedalling. I thought we agreed to put this myth to bed last year?
Pretty amazing that at the Dauphine Yogi and Rowe were able to survive for longer than you would expect - needs to be made much harder so Froome has to attack earlier on (his weakness).
I can't help thinking that that's why Sky showed a few different tactics at Suisse/Dauphine.
Can't wait meself.
The guy in front of him made an error, crashed, and took Froome out. You can argue about his positioning but there was nothing anyone could have done to avoid it.
Exactly. I'd love to know how a Movistar, AG2R or FDJ are going to be able to best a Sky team containing Rowe, Stannard & Thomas is x-winds / classics type conditions. Tinkoff / Astana, maybe.
1) Froome wants his team to dominate on the climbs and set a metronomic tempo.
So constantly change the pace and attack frequently. Don't be afraid to send people up the road. Froome often lets gaps go and backs his ability to slowly ride back, so force him to miscalculate or become over confident. Save your team for crucial moments - let Sky form the Sky train.
2) Froome wants the race to be decided in the mountains and in the TT.
Push as hard as possible on descents, in possible cross winds and following crashes. Attempt to gain as much time as possible from arguably Froome's weakest skill set.
3) Froome wants a decent buffer after the first mountain stage as he often fades towards the end.
The first week has quite a few hilly days. Don't just ride them in an effort to not lose time - put pressure on him. 10 seconds here, 15 seconds there could be massive by the end of the race. If I was a DS for Movistar I'd be prepared to lose 2nd in order to throw everything at him in the final week - don't think the sponsors would be too happy though.
At the end of the day Froome is the best all round GT rider. The only way to beat him is to surprise him, unsettle him and to put time into him outside of the big mountain stages.
The trouble is that the goal of ensuring Froome doesn't win isn't the same as ensuring your team does as well as possible. It's all well and good saying attack early and often but if that's Movistar's plan then they may put Froome under pressure but the other teams aren't just going to sit back and let him go because they prefer Quintana to Froome. Obviously if Froome's in yellow then sky will lead the chase but once he isn't then attention turns to the new leader. Likewise the main teams are unlikely to take it in turns to attack time after time because anyone worth chasing is putting themselves in danger of losing time if it doesn't pan out on your go.
Realistically I think the best the teams can do is concentrate on not losing time and if they feel there's a half decent chance then they need to take it rather than waiting for the perfect chance to come along.
He's definitely beatable.
If you're Movistar, as others have said, get Nairo to the Alps within 2-3 minutes of Froome and why shouldn't you expect a good shot at the win?
The only effective strategy in my mind is to islolate Froome on the flat / small hills. How you do that is another matter.
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Not a jot.
Use your Giro podiumers to get into breaks & really make the first hours difficult on every stage. Anything you can do to irritate the team.
The rest they do already.
But you have to push sky harder. Make them do as much as you can!