2013 UCI World Tour - The ten best pro-cyclists in the world

 

What follows is the ninth, in ten portraits, covering the UCI’s top ten World Tour riders, their 2013 season, and their future prospects. This article will be about Christopher Froome, the world’s second best professional cyclist.

 

Additional articles in the series: Richie Porte #10, Rui Costa #9, Nairo Quintana #8, Fabian Cancellara #7, Daniel Martin #6, Vincenzo Nibali #5, Peter Sagan, Alejandro Valverde #3 & Joaquim Rodríguez #1.

 

Christopher Froome, Sky – #2 / 587 points – 2013

 

Christoper Froome was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and attended his first organized bike race when he was twelve-years-old. It was at the same race where Froome met David Kinjah, the first African to sign with a European team. Kinjah would end up as Froome’s two-wheeled mentor and training partner, and the two quickly became a common sight riding in Nairobi’s northern highlands.

 

“He was unusual but wasn’t a boy you’d think of as a future champion,” Kinjah said to the Telegraph. “Nothing special – except in his head. I thought he’d be a loner because even now in the village you don’t see many white people. It was a bit odd for us spending days with a young white boy who was a bit shy and quiet. Soon, though, it was like we had known each other forever.”

 

“He’d hang behind on fast moving trucks at 70, 80km an hour without fearing things like potholes or dead dogs in the road which could pull you over,” Kinjah recalls.

 

Almost immediately after meeting Kinjah, Froome moved to South Africa, and in 2006 he beat his master for the first time. Still, Kenya’s cycling authorities were not keen on having a South African-based kid, but Kinjah intervened on his behalf.

 

“They weren’t going to select Chris for the Commonwealth Games so we said to the federation: ‘If he’s not in the team, we’ll go on strike!’ So they had to include him,” said Kinjah.

 

Three short Froome facts:

 

Was once almost killed by a chasing hippo

 

Dedicated his Tour de France win to his mother, who died of cancer five weeks before his Tour debut in 2008

 

Was in October named winner of the prestigious Vélo d'Or award for the best rider of the year

 

Konica Minolta & WCC (World Cycling Centre)

 

Froome turned professional in 2007 with the South African team Konica Minolta. Twenty-two-year old Froome stopped his studies in economics to focus on cycling and his career.

 

"It was always hard for me trying to balance my studies and training. I thought, 'OK, let me put the studies on hold. I am going to go for the cycling, give it everything for one year and if I can make something of it, then great, but if not, hopefully I can come back to my studies and carry on," Froome told Skysports.

 

Froome also signed with Swiss based WCC (World Cycling Centre), and it was with them he first competed in the European races

 

"As it turns out, I came over to Europe for my first stage race, which was the Giro delle Regioni, and I ended up winning a mountain-top finish there and coming second on another mountain-top finish," Froome recalled.

 

Froome also decided to compete in the U23 World Championships, but again the Kenya’s cycling authorities decided to make life difficult for him. Fortunately Kinjah was just the man to help with such problems.

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“He wanted to compete in the world championships but the federation wouldn’t sanction it. But he was smart. We would read all their emails and we basically forged the entry forms to allow him to compete and kept it a big secret,” Kinjah remembered in his Telegraph interview.

 

Froome eventually managed to compete in the U23 ITT, despite having to pose as a Kenyan official. In the race he embarrassingly crashed into an official, and placed forty-first overall, 03’31” behind winner Lars Boom.

 

"It was my own fault, completely," Froome told Cyclingnews after the race. "I thought the road was going to the left, and as the man stepped to the left and raised his arm I thought he was showing me the way!"

 

Despite his bad luck during the Worlds Froome had managed to impress, and next year he started at British based (though South African backed) Barloworld. The introduction had been made by Robbie Hunter.

 

Barloworld

 

In 2008 and 2009 Froome lived near Brescia, Italy, and raced with Barloworld. His South African girlfriend lived with him, worked as a model in Milan, and would turn quite a few heads at the races. Still, rumors have it that Froome ditched her in order to focus one hundred percent on his career.

 

Hrm, Tour or model girlfriend..? As his fiencé, Michelle Cound, is not too bad, it must be the Tour. Fair enough.

 

In spite of his focus (and lack of model girlfriend) Froome did not get the results he wanted, and although he did well in South African races he failed to make an impact in Europe. Somehow his potential was still spotted, and he was contacted by British Cycling coach, Rod Ellingworth.

 

“Although I was riding under the Kenyan flag I made it clear that I had always carried a British passport and felt British. It was then that we talked about racing under the Union Jack, and we stayed in touch,” Froome told the Telegraph.

 

Froome did better in 2009 where he also won his first race; the Giro del Capo, in Durbanville, South Africa. He then had a mediocre first Grand Tour debut, in the Giro d’Italia, but afterwards won a South African classic.

 

In the end the results were enough to net him a contract with Team Sky for the 2010 season.

 

Schistosomiasis (bilharzia)

 

What Froome was completely unaware of, was that his bad results during the Barloworld seasons, were likely caused by a parasitic disease that had affected him.

 

Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is a disease caused by trematodes living within freshwater snails. It is commonly found in Africa, Asia and South America, and the disease affects around 240 million people worldwide.

 

In chronic schistosomiasis the trematodes will produce eggs, which can be trapped in organs, and the immune systems response to them impedes the flow of blood and cause serious disease. It thus makes perfect sense that Froome was affected by the disease. No rider – or any kind of endurance athlete for that matter – would want a disease that affected the blood stream.

 

“There was an inconsistency about him,” Sky boss Brailsford told French television. “The question wasn’t why he was good, the question was why we’d only seeing glimpses. Why isn’t he like that all the time? When the illness was discovered, retrospectively, it made a lot of sense. There would be certain stages in the front group, you’d see these glimpses, but he couldn’t put it together with some consistency.”

 

Team Sky

 

Froome did not enjoy much success during his first season at Sky, and it was the parasites in him that affected his results. Still, he occasionally displayed glimpses of his talents in both ITT’s and in the high mountains. His best result was ninth overall in the Tour de Haut Var, and a second place in Great Britain’s national ITT, 01’22” behind winner and teammate Bradley Wiggins.

 

Froome fared better in 2011, most likely because he had gotten treatment for his bilharzia.

 

“It’s not something that just disappears. It’s a parasite. It lays eggs. They might be dormant, then the eggs hatch, then they lay more eggs,” Brailsford said. “You have to stay on top of it, be vigilant, that’s why he keeps having treatments so it’s completely eradicated over time.”

 

Froome’s 2011 was in fact his best season ever by a huge margin. Although he only did moderately well in his initial races, he still managed numerous top fifteen places in the Vuelta a Andalucia, Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Luxembourg and in the Tour de Suisse. Then came the Vuelta a España…

 

Christopher Froome entered the Vuelta as Wiggins' main mountain henchman, and the two were more or less inseparable during the first week of the Spanish Grand Tour. On the tenth stage however, Froome outrode Wiggins, and finished second in the stage, 59 seconds after winner Tony Martin. Topping it all Froome ended up in the red leader’s jersey.

 

The result was nothing but astounding, and within hours Froome skyrocketed to international fame.

 

Although Wiggins took back the red jersey from Froome, the day after, the Kenyan proved stronger than his team leader. In fact, for the remaining days of the Vuelta, Froome and Cobo, were the two prime contenders for the Spanish overall. Eventually Cobo won, but only by a measly thirteen seconds.

 

It was after the Vuelta that Froome’s bilharzia affliction was revealed, and it was here that the public understood more of his background and upcoming. The discovery and subsequent treatment of the illness was used to explain Froome's rapid rise to form during 2011. Bilharzia somewhat also helped calm the roar of anti-doping hordes, who were increasingly “crying wolf” due to Froome’s suspicious and sudden rise within the ranks of professional cyclists.

 

Two weeks after Froome helped Cavendish to the World Championships in Copenhagen, and then ended the season with a third overall in the Tour de Beijing.

 

Had Great Britain produced another star?

 

If it had it was certainly not apparent during the initial races of 2012. Froome withdrew from the Volta ao Algrave, with a severe chest infection, and blood tests revealed that his bilharzia parasites had returned.

 

Froome did not show his class again before the Critérium du Dauphiné, with a fourth overall; an impressive result as he still helped teammate and leader Wiggins to the overall prize.

 

Then came the Tour de France, and one of the most captivating rivalries in years. Sure drama between rivals on opposing teams is interesting, but rivalry between teammates takes it to another level.

 

The story of Wiggins’ and Froome’s rivalry entails an article of its own, and indeed several splendid works can be found around the net.

 

Suffice to say that during the Tour Froome was clearly as strong as Wiggins, and the overall Tour result could easily have played out quite differently. That Froome could have won the eleventh stage, had he been given the go-ahead, and also the seventeenth stage, seems certain. Nonetheless he also seemed a little bit too eager to leave team captain Wiggins behind, and without support.

 

It is difficult to decide which of the two riders who were right, but according to former Sky director Sean Yates' autobiography there were indeed problems within the Sky team.

 

“I think it would be better for everyone if I went home,” was allegedly the content of a text message that Yates received from Wiggins after the incidents. Yates also implied that it was Wiggins’ frail mentality that caused part of the disagreements.

 

“He was upset and felt like Froomey had stabbed him in the back after the discussion we’d had before the stage (when Froome had agreed only to attack in the last 500 meters).”

 

“He couldn’t understand why he’d gone back on the agreement, especially when everything was going so well.”

 

“There were only four kilometers left at that point and Brad went on to win by three minutes, so the math says that he would still have been comfortably on top in Paris. However, his mental state was always fragile, and that psychological blow could have been a knockout one.”

 

In the end Wiggins won the 2012 Tour, with Froome on the podium’s second place.

 

Wiggins and Froome went on to a catastrophic performance in the Olympic road race, where Sky’s (Great Britain’s) “riding the train” methods clearly did not suffice. Still, the two managed gold and bronze in the subsequent ITT.

 

Froome was then selected as Sky’s captain for la Vuelta a España, and his prime target was to go one better than in 2011. He did indeed look as one of the prime contenders, but as the second week of the Grand Tour arrived it was clear that he was far from as fresh as Rodriguez, Valverde and Contador. In the end he ended on a somewhat disappointing fourth place overall, more than ten minutes behind winner Alberto Contador.

 

Still, Froome’s 2011 and 2012 transformation was spectacular, and he suddenly looked ready to compete against cycling’s very best. Not bad for a guy from Kenya, who just three years earlier had been struggling just to compete (and complete) in European races.

 

Christoper Froome’s 2013 season, and the reason as to why he is currently considered #2 in the world

 

Froome started 2013 in the best possible way; namely by winning the first stage race in which he participated, the Tour of Oman.

 

"Any victory over the riders that are here - Contador, Evans or Nibali - is a huge victory. I'm really happy with this. I know I've got new responsibilities and a new role in the team,” Froome told the press after the race.

 

"To be honest I wasn't expecting to come out on top. I was hoping for the top five somewhere. To be in this position gives me a lot of confidence and builds the team around me. It gives them confidence in my ability."

 

And he did indeed provide his team with confidence in him. Especially as he time and again beat most of the peloton’s Grand Tour contenders. Only Nibali bid him resistance in the Tirreno – Adriatico. After that Froome astonishingly won every stage race in which he participated. These were: the Critérium International, the Tour de Romandie, the Critérium du Dauphiné, and finally (and of course) the Tour de France.

 

Froome entered the Tour de France as sole leader due to Wiggins’ embarrassing adventures on the wet Italian roads. Much can be said about the race, and how it unfolded, but the Kenyan was clear top dawg, and not the whipped mongrel that Tinkov would have had him be. In fact Froome took the yellow jersey after stage eight, and never lost it again.

 

Boring? Slightly, but only because there was never any doubt about who the overall winner was going to be. Froome ended up winning with 04’20” to Quintana, the nearest contender, and had impressive 06’27” to former winner Contador, who only managed fourth overall. Still… A huge victory for the Kenyan.

 

Froome also firmly established his role as Sky’s number one, and forced Wiggins into a future secondary position. More gossip about the two also emerged. For example David Walsh’s tweet, which established that Wiggins had waited fourteenth months to pay Froome the Tour prize money of 2012.

 

“The money was paid in week of 2013 World C'ships, 14 months after 2012 Tour ended and you're right, that's in the book," Walsh wrote on Twitter.

 

Wiggins also stated that he was so devastated that he refused to watch Froome win this year’s race, and furthermore, that he has never congratulated Froome with said victory. Remember also the rejoicing of the British Isles after Wiggins’ 2012 win, and the collective national shoulder-shrugs after Froome emulated his achievement.

 

Nonetheless, according to an interview today in the Daily Mail, Froome and Wiggins have now settled their personal differences. "The fact is Brad and I have just been on a training camp together in Mallorca and we've had a talk about things. It was very constructive and we are in a good place now. It was important we did that and it was important for the team, too. To be honest we should have done it a very long time ago, just to clear the air, but we are on good terms now," Froom stated.

 

Froome also acknowledged that it was the 2012 Tour that initiated the internal rivalry.

 

"The incident in 2012 was at the root of it all," he confirmed. "I'm not sure it was that big a problem but it was all played out so much in the media, it was allowed to escalate. I thought the race had evolved in such a way that opened the door for me to go. Obviously it was the wrong moment. I accept that I read the situation wrong."

 

And Wiggins? He acknowledged that Froome has the right to team support during next season’s Tour.

 

"At the moment Chris is the current winner of the Tour de France and I think he has the right to defend that title next year. If I can play a support role I’d love to be back in the team and on the start line," Wiggins added to the Daily Mail.

 

2014 and the future

 

Based on his 2013 accomplishments Froome is by far the man to beat next year. In fact, he has been so dominant that it is difficult to see who could really top him.

 

Perhaps Nibali? Especially as Nibali the only one to beat Froom in a stage race in 2013. Hopefully there will be other contenders though, as Froome was almost a bit too dominant this season. At least considered from a fan’s perspective.

 

Now that Froome has mended fences with Wiggins, and considering Sky’s general roster strength, the Kenyan might have one of the strongest lineups for the Tour. Even Contador with the aptitude of old, and Nibali descending like a falcon, will have a hard time beating Froome.

 

Froome’s weaknesses? The classics perhaps, where he has never shown anything.

 

His strengths? Oh the usual… One of the best time trialists in the world. The second best at the steepest of gradients.

 

2014 prediction? Podium in every stage race he enters (at the very least), and another Tour victory.

 

Froome the dawg is also one of the few current cyclists who might give a Grand Tour double, or even triple, a serious go.

 

Beware though, Froomey.

 

Contador is coming back as hungry as ever, and while refusing Argentinian beef, he would love to sink his teeth deep into a Kenyan ankle.

 

Italian king Nibali, the cold-blooded Sicilian shark, also reaches for the French crown.

 

Finally Quintana, the minuscule monster climber, lurks in the shadows, and true to the spirit of the escarabajos, he is ready to strike when the breath of most men falters.