Note to media: stop the silliness, quit the crash talk, end the hypotheticals. Chris Froome is not going to ride the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France.
Yes, it’s the off-season when foolish talk and the desperate need to generate new content lead media folks to wild speculation and fabrication. There’s the tendency to take any small quote and blow it up into something approaching fact. It’s Fake Cycling news.
We get it: everybody needs clicks and page views for their websites. But lets not pretend this story has any real merit. Repeat after me, Froome not riding Giro. He is on what Nairo Quintana might call a “sueños de leyendas” — dreams of legends.
Froome wants to join the exclusive Fab Five Tour de France club. Guys like Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain who have stacked up five maillot jaune GC triumphs. He is not going to wear himself out in Italy, in May, in crappy and dangerous weather as prep for his shot at legend status.
Still, what cycling journalist, short on story ideas, can resist the mere possibility that Froome might tackle the Giro-Tour double? This week it was cyclingweekly that jumped on the unlikely event. Headline: Is Chris Froome really going to go for the Giro-Tour double in 2018?
Well, no, actually, he’s not. Froome isn’t stupid and neither is Team Sky boss David Brailsford. Oh sure, there’s an extra week in between the two grand tours so Le Tour doesn’t conflict with football’s World Cup. Another week of recovery is certainly nice but not a serious enticement. Does anyone think that Nairo Quintana’s failed and miserable Giro-Tour double would have been any better with seven more days?
Cyclingweekly had to work hard for the reasons why Froome might attempt the ridiculous task. For example, they cited the fact that Mikel Landa is no longer at Sky and therefore the team has no real Giro leader. The argument being, Froome is free to fill that vacuum. Uhh, has anybody mentioned that idea to Geraint Thomas? He and Landa were both captains for the Giro last year and Thomas no doubt expects to be the leader for the 2018 Giro. Better speak up now, G — crazy talk going around.
Say it again, really loud, so everybody can hear us. Froome is not riding the Giro. He’s not going to do three days in Jerusalem, of all places, then transfer to Italy, then find himself on some freezing and dangerous high speed descent off the Zoncola, Cervinia or Mount Eta. He crashes, injured himself, catches a nasty cold, throws off all his prep for France. Not. Going. To. Happen.
Italy is fabulous, the countryside is stunning, great food and wine. That said, Froome isn’t going on vacation there. If you want to win yellow number five, you don’t try for pink number one first. Makes zero sense. There are three answers to the question, will Froome attempt the Giro-Tour double? No, No and No.
Leave A Comment