In 2012, Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins fought for leadership of the Sky team. Yesteday Froome told Cyclingnews about his relationship with Geraint Thomas. The Welshman showed he is one of Froome's key supporters in the mountains and has the potential to finish in the top 10 in a Grand Tour. 

The relationship with deteriorated during the 2012Tour. Froome doesnot predict a similar scenario "I find it very hard to see things with G going that way. I think just both of our characters we’re both honest and open with each other. In every team you have those little arguments and I think that it’s only healthy to have those and you talk about what you think you can be doing better.

"He’s not a threat definitely but it’s good for me that there is someone there snapping at my heels and if I’m not up to delivering the goods then someone else will. It always helps to have two guys up there on GC and it changes things tactically when you’re up there on a climb", Froome explained during his training camp.

Even if Thomas was strong during the first two weeks during the 2015 Tour de France, he cracked on the mountain stage to La Toussuire. This season he will try to join Froome on the podium of this three-week race. "That would be the dream scenario. I think that G is lifting his game more and more in terms of stage racing. Last year people asked if he could also get onto the podium and he wasn’t far off, he was a few days short of Paris and he was still in the top five. I don’t see why it’s not possible. He can definitely do it, he’s got the ability and it’s up to him to put the work in."

Froome will start his season at the Herald Sun Tour. He will be also present at the Volta a Catalunya at the end of March. But he will have a much lighter racing program in an Olympic season.

"Personally and professionally I feel like I’m in a good place right now. I feel like I’ve got everything to race for. I’ve got an amazing support structure around me and everything is a go at the moment. I wouldn’t be able to say if I was going any quicker or slower but physically I feel like I’m in a really good place. I worked well in November and December, obviously I took some time off when my boy was born but other than that it has been an uninterrupted winter.

"I certainly don’t feel that I don’t have any opponents. I feel like I’ve got the strongest competition that I’ve had in years," Froome added. "At the moment, I’d say Quintana and Contador are my biggest rivals. There are also a lot of other guys that you can’t rule out like Arum, I think he’s focussing on the Tour, Valverde has always been up there. I imagine that [Contador] is going to be back to his best this time. Everyone could see that he was a bit tired last year after having done the Giro already. I imagine he’ll be at his absolute best at the Tour de France.”