Should Chris Froome swallow his pride and retire?
Comments
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Hes currently an absolute drain on (cycling) society.
2020/2021/2022 Metric Century Challenge Winner0 -
There is always the Hill Climb championship… we would welcome him with open arms and he might still be able to be in the top 20 💪🏼💪🏼 😂😂
left the forum March 20230 -
Yikes, you lot are brutal.
4 time Tour winner, unstoppable in his prime, had an absolutely horrendous accident.
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All in the past though, and that form is never returning. He's milking it, and fair play.
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 -
Barring the convicted/dq'd dopers, he must be the least regarded multi GT winner ever though, even before this. He was rejected by almost everyone - Brits for not really being British, and for disrespecting Saint Brad, the trad race cycling community for not being European, most cycling fans for being unsightly on a bike etc etc, plus he carried the suspicion of doping throughout by so many. He was a personality free zone through his best years and engaged almost no-one - quite bizarre.
I thought he was ok as it goes, respected his achievements, admired his drive and in latter years thought he had a dry sense of humour.
Now? not so much ....
2020/2021/2022 Metric Century Challenge Winner0 -
I don’t think professional cycling is a sport for past glories. If you run marathons you don’t bother anybody, but if you are in a cycling team, you are taking a spot which could go to a young guy, willing to make a name for himself. If you do the Tour, you are hogging that spot for 21 days, because annoyingly, unlike in football, teams cannot do subs half way through the race.
For these reasons, I think he no longer has a place in the sport, brutal as it is. Sagan got it, Dumoulin got it… he should really come to terms with this reality too.
left the forum March 20230 -
In the academic world, he would be that 70 yo professor, who is no longer doing anything useful for the department, in terms of teaching or research, other than expressing opinions at any given opportunity, but refuses to retire, typically because hasn’t thought what to do with himself after… and in doing so preventing said department from hiring a younger, more useful member of staff.
That is Froome, basically…
left the forum March 20231 -
I actually like him more since he's no longer dominant. Partly I was always a bit of a Wiggins fan - whatever you think of Wiggins' personality he definitely had one and partly it was just I like cycling to be chaotic and unpredictable and Froome and Sky were too good at their job for that.
Subsequently he's come out as a bit of a luddite - his preference for rim brakes and posting videos of himself having a breather on a long solo ride and that stuff. We've got to see a bit more of his personality - and it turns out he still loves cycling which is good. I couldn't really care less about his wife's views - it's 2024 wives are not controlled by their husbands.
[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]1 -
Very true. I blame those on the other side of the contract.
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 -
Totally disagree with him being the least regarded multi GT winner. In his generation he was clearly the best - and that generation included multi GT winners like Contador, Nibali and I suppose you also need to include Quintana. I've always thought he was unfairly categorised as boring, which had much more to do with Wiggins 2012 Tour than any of his. His Ventoux ride, the Col De Peysourde descent attack and of course Col De Finestre were epic.
I think the real shame is that his accident deprived us of a "passing of the generations" battle between him and Pogacar albeit I have no doubt that by 2021 Pogacar or Vinegaard would have wiped the floor even with peak Froome.
If he goes to the tour - if he gets in a few breaks and fights for a stage - that will be the best way to sign off his career.
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If someone is willing to pay him millions and also give him an excuse not to go home to his wife, why would he walk away from that?
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I think he’s controlled by his wife if anything.
Her views are repellent and his accounts are blocking anyone calling her to account (since she deleted hers). One assumes it’s either her doing it, or, he backs her. He is an ambassador and spokesperson, that comes with some responsibility I’m afraid.
2020/2021/2022 Metric Century Challenge Winner0 -
Decency?
Does he need that money? Surely he has enough money for not having to worry about having a big millionaire contract… unless he is aiming for the 150 feet yacht in Monaco or the 20 million dollars Bel Air villa
left the forum March 20230 -
Just cos someone is stupid enough to offer you a silly contract doesn't mean you have to be stupid and turn it down.
Same applies to over paid footballers.
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.2 -
I'd block people if they started spamming my social media because they disagreed with my wife too.
[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
It’s fairly well established that she operates all his social media accounts.
2020/2021/2022 Metric Century Challenge Winner0 -
He's a seven time GT winner who had an accident that would've ended a lesser rider's career. He owed the sport nothing, but still had the determination and drive to attempt to return to his previous level. I don't think anyone should begrudge him that. It hasn't turned out as he hoped, but he definitely had the right to give it a go.
The bit about about denying a young pro a spot on a team is such a load of bollocks. Seriously? He's inspired thousands of kids to race their bikes, he's not denied anyone an opportunity.
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Ok I'd tell my wife to block them then. They are in his name so attacking her through them seems poor form to me.
[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
he gave it a go, now it’s his fourth season since the comeback… hasn’t won any race or got close to win any race. Hasn’t made the top 100 in any GT since… oh actually 98th at the Vuelta in 2020…
left the forum March 20230 -
Is third behind Pidcock in the tdf Alpe D'huez stage his best result since the comeback?
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2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo1 -
His only other top 10 is the team time trial in Rwanda this year.
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Should probably clarify that he finished 5 minutes behind the rest of his team in that TTT, so if it had counted towards the GC he would have been stone last.
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Don't feel bad for the owners of the team, they're doing OK.
Only if his contract guarantees him a place in the 30 man squad is there anything to even worry about. He's probably the worst rider they have, but not by all that much.
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It is odd that he still finds motivation to live a pro athlete lifestyle… which means a lot of time away from family (maybe not a bad thing, in view of the above), a lot of sacrifices… all for nothing, as he is so far from the top that he is barely making up the numbers.
Or… maybe given the results, he is actually not doing much training after all… I find it hard to believe that you can go from being the absolute best to the last in the group in the space of a couple of years… either you do not recover from the injury and you retire, or you should get relatively close to where you were previously.
For comparison, Bernal is not quite there yet, but at least is still in the mix.
left the forum March 20231 -
I still don't understand why in terms of physiology he is so much worse than he used to be.
PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 20230 -
I think he really benefitted from the Sky set up and Kerrison as his trainer, and the loss of that has hampered him alongside the obvious effects of the accident. But I still think that he remains a much better rider post accident than he's demonstrated. He's shown a few glimpses that hint there is much more there, not just the ADH stage but some turns on the front in Italian classics whittling down the field for the likes of Woods. Obviously not good enough for someone of his pedigree but IMO he's only interested in the one big last hurrah or helping the team.
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The injuries he received in his crash have had a huge impact on him physically, and I'm not sure he'll ever fully recover from them, i.e. he still walks with a noticeable limp.
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What’s the point in being a professional athlete if you can no longer be one? It seems ridiculous, there are other ways to compete, look at Valverde, he is still racing and winning things without being a PRO
left the forum March 20230 -
