Should Chris Froome swallow his pride and retire?

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  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,124
    only a few watts of his Tour winning power in testing, apparently
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  • josame
    josame Posts: 1,162
    edited June 2022
    davidof said:

    only a few watts of his Tour winning power in testing, apparently

    37yr + 3 weeks of racing... wattever (plus I think we were told something similar last time he rode the tdf)
    'Do not compare your bike to others, for always there will be greater and lesser bikes'
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,334
    That's the thing about elite sport though, isn't it? The last thing to go is always your ego...
    Twitter: @canocola @thedreadships
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,344
    davidof said:

    only a few watts of his Tour winning power in testing, apparently

    That's as maybe. But irrelevant if the opposition are putting out more.
    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.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    ..........
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,313
    davidof said:

    only a few watts of his Tour winning power in testing, apparently

    For some reason lab tests are irrelevant when it comes to the race... he can do it in the lab, great, can he do it when it matters, after 150km?
    If I had a penny for all the times I've heard this and that rider boosting their best numbers ever and then ending up in the gruppetto...
    left the forum March 2023
  • commuterlegs
    commuterlegs Posts: 271
    I guess we'll know where he's at by the end of the day, not an ITT that would suit him but if his fitness is good he should be in the top50, time will tell.
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    edited July 2022
    commuterlegs said:

    I guess we'll know where he's at by the end of the day, not an ITT that would suit him but if his fitness is good he should be in the top50, time will tell.

    Not sure it will give a true reflection of his form. Pre injury, his biggest weakness was always bike handling. This looks quite a technical course so I can see him riding within himself and not taking any risks.
    ugo.santalucia said:

    davidof said:

    only a few watts of his Tour winning power in testing, apparently

    For some reason lab tests are irrelevant when it comes to the race... he can do it in the lab, great, can he do it when it matters, after 150km?
    If I had a penny for all the times I've heard this and that rider boosting their best numbers ever and then ending up in the gruppetto...
    It's typical talk that you see fighters spout before a fight.
    For froome though, given where his form has been in the last 18 months, staying in the peloton would probably be classed as a win for him.

    I hope he surprises everyone and can perform well, just struggle to see it happening though.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    commuterlegs said:

    I guess we'll know where he's at by the end of the day, not an ITT that would suit him but if his fitness is good he should be in the top50, time will tell.


    I think the TT will be his worst bit. I doubt he's done much work on it since joining Israel
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,166
    He stayed with the lead group at the Mercan'Tour classic a few weeks back until the final climb, and only dropped 4 minutes to Fuglsang over a 12km cat 1. That feels likely to be his form if he is at his best now. If he gets in a breakaway on a mountain stage, he might finish in the top 5 on that day. Can't see a situation where he's the best climber in any break that succeeds.
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    Tbh the way things are going, if I were him I would be travelling in my own motorhome, not socialising with anyone and riding with a face mask, that way it would massively increase the chances of finishing in the top 50 or better because everything suggests covid is going to hit this tour massively.
  • drhaggis
    drhaggis Posts: 1,150
    kingstongraham said:

    only dropped 4 minutes to Fuglsang over a 12km cat 1.

    This sounds a lot more like Froome before Poland 2011 than the person that won 7 GC's and is the best GC rider of the 2010s.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,313
    ... so, what's he done thus far? Haven't seen him on TV, which is normally not a good sign
    left the forum March 2023
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,124
    ugo.santalucia said:

    ... so, what's he done thus far? Haven't seen him on TV, which is normally not a good sign

    I saw he was just 11 minutes down this morning, obviously lulling the front runners into a false sense of security before riding away on another 100km epic
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  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,344
    ugo.santalucia said:

    ... so, what's he done thus far? Haven't seen him on TV, which is normally not a good sign

    Needs a big enough gap to be let go for a breakaway win.
    Surely his best hope. GC ain't gonna happen.
    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.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,313
    pblakeney said:

    ugo.santalucia said:

    ... so, what's he done thus far? Haven't seen him on TV, which is normally not a good sign

    Needs a big enough gap to be let go for a breakaway win.
    Surely his best hope. GC ain't gonna happen.
    Today should have been his stage then... unless he is one of those who stay in the Gruppetto for 19 days and only has one go at one breakaway, just to make the sponsor happy
    left the forum March 2023
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,313
    I've just spotted him at the back, struggling on the pedals... quickly got dropped...
    left the forum March 2023
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,953
    41st today, 3m48 down.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    edited July 2022
    ugo.santalucia said:

    I've just spotted him at the back, struggling on the pedals... quickly got dropped...


    He came 41st @3.48 which isn't too bad. I think the longer multi mountain stages where positioning is less crucial may suit him better.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,344
    ugo.santalucia said:

    pblakeney said:

    ugo.santalucia said:

    ... so, what's he done thus far? Haven't seen him on TV, which is normally not a good sign

    Needs a big enough gap to be let go for a breakaway win.
    Surely his best hope. GC ain't gonna happen.
    Today should have been his stage then... unless he is one of those who stay in the Gruppetto for 19 days and only has one go at one breakaway, just to make the sponsor happy
    I said best hope....
    Also, yes. He is now one of those riders.
    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.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,313
    RichN95. said:



    He came 41st @3.48 which isn't too bad.

    It's a 7 km climb... they go up 600 mt... which is just over half the Alpe d'Huez... so we can expect him to lose 6 minutes there...
    left the forum March 2023
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    ugo.santalucia said:

    RichN95. said:



    He came 41st @3.48 which isn't too bad.

    It's a 7 km climb... they go up 600 mt... which is just over half the Alpe d'Huez... so we can expect him to lose 6 minutes there...
    I don't think it quite works like that.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,313
    Pross said:

    ugo.santalucia said:

    RichN95. said:



    He came 41st @3.48 which isn't too bad.

    It's a 7 km climb... they go up 600 mt... which is just over half the Alpe d'Huez... so we can expect him to lose 6 minutes there...
    I don't think it quite works like that.
    yeah, I suspect he will lose more... :s
    left the forum March 2023
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726
    phreak said:

    41st today, 3m48 down.

    He beat Fuglsang too, so somethings haven't changed since the good old days.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,656
    blazing_saddles said:

    phreak said:

    41st today, 3m48 down.

    He beat Fuglsang too, so somethings haven't changed since the good old days.
    Fuglsang had been told by his team they didn't want him to drop time to stage hunt, presumably they wanted the UCI points for a mediocre GC...
    Fuglsang said he didn't have legs so abandoned gc. He's never won a tour stage and his career really deserves one. I don't think he wants to ride gc at all.

    In short, I wouldn't read too much into Fuglsang's time today, but you might want to consider picking him for mountain breaks 😉
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  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,313
    I am waiting for his move today... must be the day!
    left the forum March 2023
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,313
    oops... he missed the break :(
    left the forum March 2023
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    37th place on GC at present surprised me a bit.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    Pross said:

    37th place on GC at present surprised me a bit.


    There's only 36 PCR tests between him and another yellow jersey
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • seanoconn
    seanoconn Posts: 11,680
    Pross said:

    37th place on GC at present surprised me a bit.

    There’s only 37 riders with any remaining interest in GC, the rest are domestique or sprinters. Bit of a luxury being a 37 place GC.
    Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי

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