Tour winner far Froome finished
Source: Agencies |
July 23, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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ONE down for Tour de France winner Chris Froome, how many more to go?
Having crushed the opposition at the 100th Tour, the British rider is looking ahead. And the French may need to get used to hearing the British anthem ring out again and again on the Champs-Elysees.
Froome's prowess in time trials and on mountain climbs, vital for any modern winner of cycling's premier race, plus his age, 28, and his hunger for more success give him the makings of a multiple champion.
Rivals, be warned.
"As long as I'm hungry for it, as long as I've got the motivation and the physical ability, I'll go for it," he said. "To come and target the Tour, that's got to be the biggest goal and to be able to do that year after year through your prime period, I think that's got to be what my main focus is on.
"I can time trial reasonably, I can climb pretty well," Froome added, in typically understated fashion.
"I can't see what else they are going to really put in the Tour that I would struggle with. So I would like to think that I can come back every year."
Froome is a less flamboyant character than some of the other riders who have seared the 110-year-old race with their larger-than-life personalities and stories. Riders like five-time champion Bernard Hinault, France's irascible "Badger" who liked to impose his will on the race, or Lance Armstrong, the cancer survivor with a childhood chip on his shoulder who tarnished the Tour with his serial doping, lies and bullying, which all caught up with him when he was stripped of his seven wins last year.
"This is one yellow jersey that will stand the test of time," he vowed on the podium on Sunday.
Rather than succumb to the temptation to "just fly home and switch off for a few months," he now plans to focus on the world championships in September. He believes the course in Tuscany, Italy, is suited to riders who can climb and he doesn't want to miss the "great opportunity" to achieve what would be an "amazing" Tour-worlds double.
"Being world champ, that's probably the second biggest thing in cycling, isn't it? after the yellow jersey," he said.
Having crushed the opposition at the 100th Tour, the British rider is looking ahead. And the French may need to get used to hearing the British anthem ring out again and again on the Champs-Elysees.
Froome's prowess in time trials and on mountain climbs, vital for any modern winner of cycling's premier race, plus his age, 28, and his hunger for more success give him the makings of a multiple champion.
Rivals, be warned.
"As long as I'm hungry for it, as long as I've got the motivation and the physical ability, I'll go for it," he said. "To come and target the Tour, that's got to be the biggest goal and to be able to do that year after year through your prime period, I think that's got to be what my main focus is on.
"I can time trial reasonably, I can climb pretty well," Froome added, in typically understated fashion.
"I can't see what else they are going to really put in the Tour that I would struggle with. So I would like to think that I can come back every year."
Froome is a less flamboyant character than some of the other riders who have seared the 110-year-old race with their larger-than-life personalities and stories. Riders like five-time champion Bernard Hinault, France's irascible "Badger" who liked to impose his will on the race, or Lance Armstrong, the cancer survivor with a childhood chip on his shoulder who tarnished the Tour with his serial doping, lies and bullying, which all caught up with him when he was stripped of his seven wins last year.
"This is one yellow jersey that will stand the test of time," he vowed on the podium on Sunday.
Rather than succumb to the temptation to "just fly home and switch off for a few months," he now plans to focus on the world championships in September. He believes the course in Tuscany, Italy, is suited to riders who can climb and he doesn't want to miss the "great opportunity" to achieve what would be an "amazing" Tour-worlds double.
"Being world champ, that's probably the second biggest thing in cycling, isn't it? after the yellow jersey," he said.
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