by Justin Davis
PARIS, France, July 21, 2013 (AFP) ? When Chris Froome stepped down from
top of the the Tour de France podium on Sunday, there was no plan for a lavish
ceremony befitting of the most recent winner of the race?s fabled yellow
jersey.
For Froome, the celebrations would amount to ?an unforgettable night in
Paris with some school friends? who had made the trip from Africa to witness
the climax of his amazing journey from the dirt roads of Kenya to success in
the world?s greatest bike race.
Born in Kenya, Froome?s love affair with cycling began shortly after his
mother asked former elite mountain biker David Kinjah to coach her dreamy
11-year-old son, the youngest of three.
?She needed somebody to tap his prodigious energy, and somebody had told
her that I could handle him,? said Kinjah, who remembers Froome fondly.
?The first time Chris came here with his BMX bike he was very shy?but he
was also a very determined young boy.?
Froome, who speaks several languages including Swahili and used to sport an
array of colored Kenyan clothes and bracelets, remains shy and is still
quietly-spoken.
And while resolutely British, he is still not quite sure which country to
love most.
?I really do feel divided amongst those places? that you mentioned now, he
told media on Saturday.
?When I go back to Kenya, even going through customs control, when the
customs guys give you that big smile, that always makes me really happy.?
But the determination Froome showed during his early cycling days, when 100
km training rides with Kinjah were the norm, remains one of his overriding
attributes.
Froome?s journey to cycling stardom continued apace when, following his
parents? divorce, he was sent to boarding school in South Africa.
Although rugby and cricket were the top sports in Bloemfontein, Froome soon
found a channel for his passion in the many road races in the country.
Froome would often awake at 5am to beat the traffic and cycle for two hours
before heading off to university, where he studied economics.
He soon came to the attention of Robbie Nilsen, who ran a local cycling
academy, and progressed further thanks to his keen interest in nutrition,
training and the science of sport.
Having competed for Kenya as an under-23 year old at the world road race
championships in Salzburg, Austria, opportunity knocked for Froome when, aged
22, he was offered the chance to race for the Konica-Minolta team while
training at the International Cycling Union (UCI) academy in Aigle,
Switzerland.
?I made the decision then to put my studies on hold,? Froome said.
?I thought, I?m going to give this cycling a go. I put the studies on hold
and gave it everything.?
Froome virtually sealed a move to the Barloworld team with victory on a
mountaintop during the Giro delle Regione in 2007.
A year later, Froome paved the way towards representing Britain when he
took a British racing licence and his move to Barloworld gave him a taste of
prestigious races like Paris-Roubaix, Fleche-Wallone and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
The same year, Froome lined up for his maiden Tour de France despite having
lost his mother Jane to illness only weeks earlier.
Froome finished 84th overall and 11th in the young rider?s classification,
a result which, among others, prompted the interest of coaches at British
cycling on the lookout for fresh, raw talent for the future Sky team.
Since his move to Sky in 2010, Froome has gone from strength to strength,
benefiting from the world?s best coaches and methods.
From being ?a rough diamond, in need of shaping and polishing?, according
to his team, he has emerged into what experts believe is the perfect rider for
the grueling three-week Grand Tours.
Froome?s first major breakthrough was his second-placed finish, ahead of
Bradley Wiggins, on the 2011 Tour of Spain ? a result which equaled Robert
Millar?s second place in the 1987 Giro d?Italia as the highest placed British
rider in a Grand Tour.
Having finished runner-up on the Tour de France in 2012, when his help in
the mountains proved crucial for Wiggins? victory, Froome made the most of his
opportunity to lead Team Sky on his own this year.
He claimed two mountaintop stage wins and victory in an individual time
trial to finish with an impressive winning margin of 4:20 ? the biggest on
the race since disgraced American Lance Armstrong won the 2004 edition with a
six-minute lead on Andreas Kloden.
For Sky chief Dave Brailsford, it could be the start of the Froome era.
?Our team won?t be built around one person, but there?s no doubt about it,?
Brailsford said Saturday. ?He?s one of, if not the best rider in the world
right now and there?s no reason to think that couldn?t continue.?
Factfile on Britain?s Chris Froome, the winner
of the 100th edition of the Tour de France:
Name: Chris Froome
Date of birth: May 20, 1985
Place of birth: Nairobi (Kenya)
Lives: Monaco
Nationality: British
Height: 1.86 m
Weight: 69 kg
Teams: Konica-Minolta (2007), Barloworld (2008 and 2009), Sky (since 2010)
Honours
One-day races
Olympic Games 2012 time trial: bronze
Stage races
Tour of Romandie 2013 (plus one time trial stage), Criterium du Dauphine
2013 (plus one stage)
Tour of Oman (plus one stage), Criterium International 2013 (plus one tage)
One stage win in Tirreno-Adriatico 2013
Grands Tours:
Tour de France: three participations ? 2008: 81st, 2012: 2nd, 2013: 1st
Four stage wins (La Planche des Belles Filles 2012, Ax-Trois-Domaines, Mont
Ventoux, Chorges 2013)
Tour of Spain: two participations ? 2011: 2nd, 2012: 4th
One stage win (Pena Cabargua 2011)
Giro d?Italia: two participations ? 2009: 35th, 2010: DNF
Chris Froome on Sunday became the second
consecutive Briton, after compatriot and Sky teammate Bradley Wiggins, to win
the Tour de France.
Below is a timeline of the Nairobi-born rider?s life and cycling career.
1985 ? Froome born in Nairobi on May 20
1997 ? meets professional mountain biker David Kinjah, who becomes his
coach and mentor during training rides in the hills around Nairobi
1999 ? moves to South Africa to complete schooling and goes on to study
economics for two years at the University of Johannesburg
2005 ? wins stage two of Tour of Mauritius
2006 ? wins Tour of Mauritius plus stages two and three
2006 ? participates as an under-23 rider at the world road race
championships in Salzburg, Austria
2007 ? quits University to turn professional with the Konica-Minolta team
in South Africa
2007 ? wins mountaintop finish on stage five of Italian amateur race Giro
delle Regione to secure future contract with Barloworld
2007 ? wins overall at Mi-Aout Bretonne in France
2007 ? wins Tour of Japan stage six
2007 ? third overall in All Africa Games road race
2008 ? finishes second overall on Giro del Capo in South Africa, and third
overall on Giro dell Appennino in Italy
2008 ? takes a British racing licence
2008 ? joins Barloworld as a first-year pro and gets a taste of elite
racing at Paris-Roubaix, Fleche-Wallone, Amstel Gold and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
June 2008 ? loses his mother Jane to illness
July 2008 ? lines up for his first Tour de France with team Barloworld and
goes on to finish 84th overall and 11th in the young rider?s classification
June 2009 ? competes in Giro d?Italia, his first Grand Tour appearance, and
finishes 36th overall
2009 ? begins talking to British coach Rod Ellingworth about a move to Team
Sky
2010 ? Froome joins Team Sky, who describe him as ?a rough diamond, in need
of shaping and polishing?
May/June 2010 ? competes in the Giro d?Italia, but thrown off the race for
holding on to a police motorbike while nursing a knee injury
June 2010 ? highlights time trialling skills by finishing second in British
national championships
2011 ? makes first major breakthrough on one of the three Grand Tours,
upstaging Sky team leader Bradley Wiggins to finish second overall at the Tour
of Spain. His finish equalled Robert Millar?s second place in the 1987 Giro
d?Italia as the highest placed British rider in a Grand Tour.
2011 ? news of Froome suffering from the tropical bug Bilharzia made
public, having been diagnosed in 2010
September 2011 ? signs three-year contract with Sky.
September 2011 ? participates for Britain at world championships, where
teammate Mark Cavendish wins rainbow jersey
October 2011 ? finishes third overall on inaugural Tour of Beijing
2012 ? after early season compromised by illness, Bilharzia problems and a
training ride crash, returns in May to help Wiggins wins the Tour of Romandie
July 2012 ? claims maiden Tour de France win at La Planche des Belles
Filles on stage seven after counter-attacking defending race champion Cadel
Evans on the steep climb
July 2012 ? finishes second to Wiggins on the podium in Paris, having
underlined his all-round abilities with strong performances on the climbs and
the time trials
July 2012 ? wins bronze medal in Olympic time trial, his first Olympic
medal for Britain
September 2012 ? selected as leader for the Tour of Spain by Team Sky but
finished fourth overall at over 10 minutes behind Alberto Contador
2013 ? begins collecting a series of victories in prestigious stage races,
winning in succession the Tour of Oman, Tirreno-Adriatico, the Criterium
International, the Criterium du Dauphine and the Tour of Romandie
July 2013 ? wins stage eight of the Tour de France atop Ax-Trois-Domaines
in the Pyrenees to take the leader?s yellow jersey. Extends lead with second
place finish on stage 11 times trial and takes his lead over Contador to 4:25
with victory atop Mont Ventoux on stage 15
July 2013 ? claims fourth win at the Tour de France by winning stage 17
time trial, nine seconds ahead of Contador
July 21, 2013 ? crowned Tour de France champion with a 4min 20sec lead over
Colombia?s Nairo Quintana.
London 2012 Synchronized Swimming London 2012 hurdles Taylor Kinney Beach Volleyball Olympics 2012 Jessica Ennis Aliya Mustafina Kirk Urso
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.