Should Chris Froome swallow his pride and retire?
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I think he missed the transfer from the Netherlandsugo.santalucia said:Anything worth of note from Froome?
I'm not following the Vuelta...
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He's 1h45 behind the leader after the first week in Spain. Is that noteworthy?0
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Well, let's wait for this big stage win then...kingstongraham said:He's 1h45 behind the leader after the first week in Spain. Is that noteworthy?
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He's still recovering from the after effects of Covid. Probably shouldn't be riding but he's a stubborn bugger.3
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It's a shame he has been affected by COVID. Seems like they are losing 2 riders a day as well in the vuelta.0
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Anyone heard from Froomey lately? I read in the French press that he's given up on winning another Grand Tour and is focussing on 1 week stage races.BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
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He's currently riding Romandie.
Hasn't yet breached the top 100 on a stage0 -
It's sad that a rider of his calibre is struggling so badly
Part of me worries Bernal is going down the same route after his bad accident1 -
I'm watching the Romandie and hadn't even noticed him !r0bh said:He's currently riding Romandie.
Hasn't yet breached the top 100 on a stageBASI Nordic Ski Instructor
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I'm conflicted. As long as he wants to and as long as someone's willing to finance it he'll keep riding even though it's clear that his career from now on is a lap of honour. There's also an argument that he's taking up a place on the team that a younger rider could use (although since Israel are no longer a WT team, their entry to races may become dependant on his appearance).
On the other hand I remember friends going to The Open on Thursday or Friday when they had options to attend at the weekend simply because they wanted to see Seve or Nicklaus. There may be people whose interest is piqued by his presence.
On balance, I think it's time he moved on.================================
Cake is just weakness entering the body0 -
I don't think he's looking to be a contender any more. If he was he would have done more racing this season. I know Covid hit him fairly bad, but I don't really see a reason for the long absence so far this season.
He was always a rider that needed huge blocks of training and I don't think he'll be that motivated to do it without a likely reward. On the other hand he seems to have interests in a quite a lot of cycling businesses, possibly with Sylvain Adams, so will want to stick around. And Israel will always get a Tour invite with him on the roster and he can get round. He'll be looking for one last win I think, even if it's just a stage of the Tour of Britain (he should have a crack at the GB nationals with Hollyman & Williams).
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I'm not sure there's much honour gained in this race.wakemalcolm said:
... it's clear that his career from now on is a lap of honour.
On the other hand I remember friends going to The Open on Thursday or Friday when they had options to attend at the weekend simply because they wanted to see Seve or Nicklaus. There may be people whose interest is piqued by his presence.
I'm no golfist, but there is still a chance of seeing Seve sink a 60ft putt, whereas it must have been obvious to Froome beforehand that he wasn't going to do anything.
But I guess we might say the same about Cav now.1 -
Did you watch Romandie yesterday? Bernal might not be back to his best yet, but he was 20-25 seconds behind the front group for most of yesterday's final climb and only lost 30 seconds or so in the final kilometres as the inevitable attacks happened. He was 8th on the stage and now sits 8th on GC, which bodes well.takethehighroad said:It's sad that a rider of his calibre is struggling so badly
Part of me worries Bernal is going down the same route after his bad accident1 -
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He rode the Tour of Rwanda as well. Had a day where he went on a solo break, had two punctures, and then crashed.
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100%, Seve was seen as an artist, so even with his top level behind him you'd have a reasonable chance of seeing some amazing short game touch.Mad_Malx said:
I'm not sure there's much honour gained in this race.wakemalcolm said:
... it's clear that his career from now on is a lap of honour.
On the other hand I remember friends going to The Open on Thursday or Friday when they had options to attend at the weekend simply because they wanted to see Seve or Nicklaus. There may be people whose interest is piqued by his presence.
I'm no golfist, but there is still a chance of seeing Seve sink a 60ft putt, whereas it must have been obvious to Froome beforehand that he wasn't going to do anything.
But I guess we might say the same about Cav now.
Going backwards, spinning like a loon and staring at his stem doesn't have the same appeal somehow1 -
As much as I admired Seve I don’t see how you can the comparison between golf and art. The same for most sports, it’s someone hitting a ball with a stick.0
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Golf isn't a great example as players win in the their 50s occasionally. In tennis the Williams sisters still draw a crowd despite not really challenging for several season. (Admittedly Froome's dad didn't hit Chris Rock)Mad_Malx said:
I'm not sure there's much honour gained in this race.wakemalcolm said:
... it's clear that his career from now on is a lap of honour.
On the other hand I remember friends going to The Open on Thursday or Friday when they had options to attend at the weekend simply because they wanted to see Seve or Nicklaus. There may be people whose interest is piqued by his presence.
I'm no golfist, but there is still a chance of seeing Seve sink a 60ft putt, whereas it must have been obvious to Froome beforehand that he wasn't going to do anything.
But I guess we might say the same about Cav now.
And cycling has more accessibility for fans. There aren't many sports where you can just walk up to a star, and now he's not a player he's more available.Twitter: @RichN950 -
I suspect his ride to Alp d'Huez with Pidcock was his swansong at the sharp end.2
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He'll try to pull the same trick this year I'm sure. Get in the break on a mountain stage and go for the win to close out his career with a bang (he notably could have, but didn't close down Contador on L'Angliru in 2017). Judging by last year, he'll need to be lucky with who's in the break with him, or try on a day that isn't a MTF.phreak said:I suspect his ride to Alp d'Huez with Pidcock was his swansong at the sharp end.
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Apart from that day, the nearest he's been to a decent finish is that Mercan'Tour thing where he finished 11th, 4 minutes back.
He must really love cycling.1 -
Hasn’t he said something about wanting to continue until he’s 40 and pass his experience on to others? It was mentioned in commentary on one of the stages last week. That said, if you want to pass on experience then Israel is probably not the team to be on!0
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He gets paid a fortune to ride for Israelkingstongraham said:Apart from that day, the nearest he's been to a decent finish is that Mercan'Tour thing where he finished 11th, 4 minutes back.
He must really love cycling.0 -
If he didn't enjoy it, I think he's probably got enough to retire on.rick_chasey said:
He gets paid a fortune to ride for Israelkingstongraham said:Apart from that day, the nearest he's been to a decent finish is that Mercan'Tour thing where he finished 11th, 4 minutes back.
He must really love cycling.0 -
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if people want to know what it's like hanging on the back of a road race bunch.... I'm your guyPross said:Hasn’t he said something about wanting to continue until he’s 40 and pass his experience on to others? It was mentioned in commentary on one of the stages last week. That said, if you want to pass on experience then Israel is probably not the team to be on!
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I imagine that it's a damned sight harder than we think, and no holiday.davidof said:
if people want to know what it's like hanging on the back of a road race bunch.... I'm your guyPross said:Hasn’t he said something about wanting to continue until he’s 40 and pass his experience on to others? It was mentioned in commentary on one of the stages last week. That said, if you want to pass on experience then Israel is probably not the team to be on!
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
It's probably pretty doable for a 4 time TDF winner thoughpblakeney said:
I imagine that it's a damned sight harder than we think, and no holiday.davidof said:
if people want to know what it's like hanging on the back of a road race bunch.... I'm your guyPross said:Hasn’t he said something about wanting to continue until he’s 40 and pass his experience on to others? It was mentioned in commentary on one of the stages last week. That said, if you want to pass on experience then Israel is probably not the team to be on!
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I anticipated that response. It would be easy for a 4 time winner tapering down.takethehighroad said:
It's probably pretty doable for a 4 time TDF winner thoughpblakeney said:
I imagine that it's a damned sight harder than we think, and no holiday.davidof said:
if people want to know what it's like hanging on the back of a road race bunch.... I'm your guyPross said:Hasn’t he said something about wanting to continue until he’s 40 and pass his experience on to others? It was mentioned in commentary on one of the stages last week. That said, if you want to pass on experience then Israel is probably not the team to be on!
Not so easy for someone coming from a near death experience.The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
I'm only talking about a 3rd cat fish and chipper.pblakeney said:
I imagine that it's a damned sight harder than we think, and no holiday.davidof said:
if people want to know what it's like hanging on the back of a road race bunch.... I'm your guyPross said:Hasn’t he said something about wanting to continue until he’s 40 and pass his experience on to others? It was mentioned in commentary on one of the stages last week. That said, if you want to pass on experience then Israel is probably not the team to be on!
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