Chris Froome was present in Abu Dhabi to attend the UCI Cycling Gala and collect an award for his win at the Tour de France. He explained that he has begun training after fracturing his foot at the Vuelta a Espana. The Team Sky leader added that he is motivated for the coming season.
"Any Tour de France title is always special but this year I had to work extremely hard for it I think more so than in 2013," Froome said according to Cyclingnews. "The Tour has got to be the highlight (of the season) for me. The build-up, the hype, the pressure, everything that goes into being ready for the Tour, it's the enormity and intensity of it all. It's one thing planning for it all, it's another actually pulling it on and wearing the yellow jersey all the way to Paris."
In August, Froome was the first Tour winner to take on the Vuelta in the same year since Carlos Sastre in 2008. Stage 11 was a mountainous stage in Andorra that Froome had described as "the toughest Grand Tour stage I’ve ever done". He crashed into a wooden barrier on the approach to the first climb of the day; he continued to the end of the stage, though he lost significant time to all his rivals. The following morning, an MRI scan revealed that he had broken his foot in the crash and he withdrew from the Vuelta.
"I've only just started back on the bike. I did three hours the other day but that's about it. I'm just easing back into gradually," Froome explained to journalists. "I have been thinking about 2016 but we've still to have our team meeting and start the planning process, but it's definitely in my mind now. And the injury in the Vuelta has given that extra little bit of motivation to get back into the season and get back to where I was."
The British rider will aim to win the Tour de France and the Olympic Games title. "It's pretty hard to go better than winning the Tour de France but next year is an Olympic year and that would be incredible, to do well in the Olympics also," he said.
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