As a young boy growing up in Nairobi, Kenya, apparently Chris Froome could not even afford a bike. But after a chance meeting with Kenyan cyclist David Kinjah, Froome was given a bike and simply did not stop riding.
Despite a clear determination to succeed from a young age, who would have guessed that a poor boy from Kenya would make it to the Tour de France, let alone win cycling’s most prestigious race in the fashion he has?
After finishing third in last night’s penultimate stage, 29 seconds behind stage winner Nairo Quintana, the Sky leader holds a 5:03 lead over the second placed Columbian, with only the traditional stroll into Paris to come.
Traditionally no general classification contenders attack on the final stage, meaning Froome has all but won the Tour, with just the formalities remaining.
But let’s reflect on Froome’s journey throughout the Tour, leading to him dominating sport’s toughest event.
After a quiet first week, with no meaningful time gaps in the general classification, Froome tore the race apart up the final climb to Ax 3 Domaines in stage eight, gaining a remarkable 1:45 on the likes of Alberto Contador and Quintana in an astounding performance that set a precedence for the next two weeks.
Despite being isolated through bullish tactics by Saxo-Tinkoff and Movistar the next day, Froome showed all he was boss in stage 11’s individual time trial, going at a phenomenal pace to defeat every contender for the general classification by two minutes or more.
For the next three days the flat roads ensured the sprinters were in the spotlight, but in stage 15 Froome ensured the focus was once again on him after a dominant ride up the famous Mont Ventoux.
After ascending arguably the Tour’s most feared ‘berg, Froome took the stage win and claimed considerable time on all his rivals for the yellow jersey.
Although Froome enjoyed a relatively quiet day next few days by his high standards, last year’s runner up still consolidated his lead over second placed Contador from 4:25 (after stage 15) to 5:11 heading into last night’s stage, with the Tour all but wrapped up.
And wrap it up he did last night, finishing 29 and 12 seconds behind Quintana and Joaquim Rodriguez respectively, with Contador a further two minutes back.
This means Quintana has taken the runners up position, with Rodriguez third in this year’s Tour. But just how does Froome’s win rate?
He simply never faltered, and when it mattered most he brought the hammer down on his rivals, such as in stage 11’s individual time trial, and stage 15’s climb up the torturous Mont Ventoux; days that set up his historic win.
But what makes Froome’s victory even more impressive is the enormous margin he won the Tour by.
Very rarely are the last two mountain stages of the Tour billed as ‘the battle for second place’, but that was the case this year, with Froome holding a 5:11 advantage over Contador after the double ascent of the iconic Alp d’Huez in stage 18.
To put it simply, Froome smashed his rivals. The Briton’s 5:03 victory over 23 year old Colombian Quintana is the largest win in Le Tour de France since Jan Ulrich won by over nine minutes to second placed Richard Virenque of France in the 1997 Tour – a victory now severely cloud after Ulrich admitted to doping during his career in an interview just a month ago.
This demonstrates the destructive nature of Froome’s all-round performance, clearly one of the best in the history of this great race.
His rivals threw all they could at him, but Froome caught everything that went his way, and powered back missiles that would not stop firing.
zacbrygel
Roar Guru
To be honest, if they are I'd prefer they do get caught cause the truth of cycling needs to be out in the open, but let's hope we never have to worry about that.
Ben
Guest
And if Sky is doping, let's hope that they don't get caught.
zacbrygel
Roar Guru
I agree Tiger, let's hope we are in a new era. And Ben, hopefully SKY are steadying the ship in the right direction, achieving great results without doping.
Ben
Guest
Don't get your hopes up Tiger, doping will always be a part of professional sport and will continue to play a role in assisting cyclists to win - the big events in particular. We can only hope they will be more circumspect about it than Lance. Sky didn't get off to a great start but have been steadying the ship while still getting the results.
Tiger
Guest
Well I honestly hope you guys are right and this is the start of new golden era of a clean honest tour!
Ben
Guest
Precisely Zac! Since getting on the Sky program Froome's performances have been amazing. Brailsford has handled the media well, the only misstep being the exposure of Leinders as a 'doping doc' and the Sean Yates link. That all seems to have settled down now though and joe public really is none the wiser for all the smoke it generated. The most reassuring thing is that there has been no real proof uncovered. only circumstantial tidbits here and there. Hopefully they now have all their systems in order and the only thing 'suspicious' coming sky from here on out are the continuing dominant performances.
zacbrygel
Roar Guru
Exactly right Ben, we live in the 21st century, not in medieval England where you where guilty until proven innocent.
zacbrygel
Roar Guru
Tiger I'm not saying every rider is clean, there will always be those few who try to beat the system, but what I am saying is that jus because Froome hasn't been subjected to a USADA investigation like Armstrong doesn't mean he is a cheat the same. Secondly, Froome hasn't come from nowhere to dominate this Tour de France, he was second last year and had podium finishers in grand tours such as the Vuelta the year before. Unlike Armstrong who virtually came from nowhere to win the 1999 Tour, thus arousing suspicion about the legitimacy of his performances.
Ben
Guest
Tiger, I don't think anyone is naive enough to think the testing will catch everyone. The most important thing for cycling is that the big names remain in the clear and the testing doesn't uncover new compounds that will scare the herd. The holy grail of course are synthetics with a very short glow time but a very long/permanent performance effect. PEDs that could only be linked to teams or riders in the most unlucky of circumstances and therefore hopefully starving the issue of oxygen. In retrospect, Armstrong was dumb. His performances were too good, his dominance too complete and he was a prick about it. A smarter team, given access the holy grail PED, or something close to it, could have their lead rider ride close to, but not above, maximum physiological limits, and perhaps rotate the strike so one rider doesn't stick out too much. Probably wouldn't have worked with Armstrong though because he really was bigger than the team. Anyway, I digress - athletes, directors and sports scientists will hopefully have learnt from Armstrong's mistakes and we will hear less about it in the future and fans can concentrate on the racing rather than what is going into the riders' bodies.
Ben
Guest
Exactly. It is festina all over again. After the bust in 1998 we saw fewer positives - teams were scared of being caught so were far more careful with their behaviour (but obviously not careful enough in some cases - I am looking at you Lance - cortisone? I mean, really?). To be fair, US Postal in 1999 weren't as well organised/professional as the modern teams like Sky so they were bound to make a silly mistake in the early years. Hopefully Sky will have learnt from the mistakes of the past and leave amateur hour f ups like di luca to stick their heads above the parapet and be busted. I guess we need a few positives to show that the testing is working - seems a bit hard on those riders but thems the breaks. Cycling will continue to be vilified if Froome or Wiggo go down though - we need to trust in Brailsford to do his job. Innocent until proven guilty - no suspicion without clear and compelling proof.
Tiger
Guest
Zac!!! Surely you can't believe that?? Just because athletes pass tests doesn't mean their clean!! They will try and cheat the system whenever they can..geeze they used to catch trains to cheat in the early Tour!! Sure not every winner in sport or every rider in the Tour is a drug cheat but please don't go around with your head in the sand..cheats will always find a way to cheat the system! I really hope Froome is clean, I really do, but what's happen in the past (and just not the Texan..Contodor, Frank Shleck and the one that is really disappointing, the hard man of the Tour Stuart O'Grady for heavens sake!) just makes it all the more difficult to believe the guys on the podium did it the old fashion way..and I don't mean hopping on a train!
zacbrygel
Roar Guru
And teams will be more aware now of the increased danger of being caught if they do run doping programs, thus they are much less likely to do so.
Ben
Guest
Thanks zac - it is worrying that we seem to be going down the same path with Sky as we trod with Discovery. Discovery was hounded for years by the media and skeptical cycling fans before enough evidence was collected to build a comprehensive case against them. It almost destroyed cycling when the truth came out. I simply cannot believe given the fallout with Lance Armstrong that Sky would be crazy enough to leave a similar trail of evidence showing their guilt. The media and fans need to back off, stop asking awkward questions and let the testers go through the motions so we can forget about doping in cycling once and for all..
zacbrygel
Roar Guru
Good point Ben, and as I stated earlier no one should be presumed guilty without proper evidence, and it is unfair to do so otherwise.
Ben
Guest
That was very hurtful Tiger. I know you were burnt by Lance Armstrong's lies but Chris Froome's are completely different. Lance said his miraculous times were due to him rebuilding his body after chemo (into a finely tuned racing machine). Chris' story involves an african worm that had been undetected for god knows long - once froomigated he subsequently revealed how he was finally able to reach his true, hidden potential (turning into a finely tuned racing machine). If people cannot tell the difference between these stories (hint: cancer and blood parasites are completely different diseases) then we are all suckers.
Tiger
Guest
As I stated that's what I thought about the Texan!! By the way Ben is your last name Dover? Because it sounds like you've been coping it up the Champs Élysées for a while now you keyboard warrior!
zacbrygel
Roar Guru
I agree Ben, innocent until proven guilty. And good joke about the 'Froomigation' foundation.
Ben
Guest
Tiger, you are one of those doubting, bloody w**ki*g c**ts who won't believe in miracles. Shame on you. Chris Froome had to overcome a debilitating blood parasite to get the results he is enjoying today - his comeback from the disease and ascension to cycling greatness is one of the most inspiring stories of the current era. Victims of blood parasites are finally having their disease brought to the fore. We can only hope that Chris starts a charitable foundation to convert some of the current public sympathy into some actual real good for these people.(If Chris Froome's agent is reading this I had an idea for a name - The Froomigation Foundation).
Tiger
Guest
He sure was dominant..His victory on the Mont Ventoux reminded me very much of that guy who dominated the race for seven years in a row. I can't quite recall his name..some guy from Texas who it turned out wasn't just using the talents God gave him. Anyway those repeated surges of attack by Froome sure were umm impressive..I wonder if all that ability was bestowed on him by the Almighty..I hope so, but then again, I used to think that about the Texan.
zacbrygel
Roar Guru
It certainly was Bill, what a performance to remember in the centenary edition of the Tour!