Some “interesting” opinions on here. The fact is winning a one day race requires different tactics than a 3 week stage race. I like Quickstep but when they “blocked” the road to allow Jungels to gain valuable seconds I saw that as no different to Sky keeping the pace high on a mountain stage. Also interesting that today Luke Rowe and Bernal helped to blow the peloton apart in the crosswinds at Paris-Nice - that wasn’t boring. Nor was Froome’s attack in the Giro, or Thomas’ win on the Alpe. And sprint teams control the race on flat stages as much as Sky try to in the mountains. I guess it’s all about personal bias and perspective.
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QS did not block the road for Jungels. They were in line from second wheel, but didn’t fan out. It was more a show of strength rather than blocking.
Apples and Oranges. Grand Tours are won by the most consistent rider, consistency isn’t exciting.
People say Chris Froome is boring but the most entertaining grand tour stages of recent years are:
- Stage 8 of the 2016 TDF: Weird Janky Descending
- The Attack on the Finestre
- Chris Froome running up Ventoux
I think to us Brits, Froomey behaves in a very british way and this is likeable.
Personally, I think you are better at watching the races that you enjoy watching. For me it is the classics.
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That’s the exception that proves the rule though.
And I personally don’t have any particular animus for Sky. I quite like Geraint Thomas actually. Not a fan, because they are quite boring, but no active dislike.
Froome and Brailsford how ever are clowns of the highest magnitude who I cannot stand.
I wouldn’t necessarily rate those top. The Finestre attack yes, the others are pretty meh. The cobble stages last year are >>>>>>>> any other stage in the past ten years imo.
I’m not British, but I spend a lot of time there as a pretty committed (read: insane) Anglophile, and to me Froome is very un-British. But I actively dislike him not because of that, but his total hypocrisy and falseness. He is not a “nice guy” like is trotted out over and over. He is a raging dick, identical to Lance Armstrong, just with a nicer veneer. If he just came out and said “Hey I am here to win and I don’t care who gets crushed in the process”, I wouldn’t necessaroly be a fan of his, but I would respect him. The fakeness is nauseating. It’s the same reason I despised Lance when he was winning. Now that Lance is an admitted asshole? I kind of like him because he is honest and interesting.
I think people just don’t realize the big turn off with these guys is the lack of honesty and authenticity. It’s awful. And they have no one to blame but themselves after their holier than thou entry into the sport. Which is a shame, as there are some great riders on the squad who I quite like, and I think get unfairly tarnished with the anti-Sky brush because of a few tossers.
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They blocked, and that’s fine. They would go into corners in first wheel and then slow the pace a bit, swing wide in numbers coming out of turns. Small little things that gave a second here and a second there. It’s fine, and it’s great tactics. But it’s blocking.
Got a source for that?
I’m not a fan of Froome per se, but you have to admire Sky’s dominance and strategy to grind out grand tour wins.
It’s up to the other teams to knock them off the podium at the end.
There’s no need to hate them.
Many French spectators have stepped way over the mark in their disrespect of Sky riders, in particular Froome. It is not acceptable and they should be prosecuted under the law.
No one remembers the teams that didn’t get on the podium. France needs a french rider to do well soon. They haven’t had a tour winner for a while. That is why they hate Sky. It’s very unsportsmanlike and an easy target.
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Re cobble stages, unfortunately, I always compare them to the classics that is unfair and you are right they have been entertaining. I guess I am a classics guy.
I guess I don’t agree. Most of the top riders are type A people. I don’t think he behaves in a particularly fake way, granted, he is pretty closed book during interviews. Is that to be expected given what he has endured? For example, having urine thrown on him. I do think he is targeted quite aggressively by the press. That having been said, G winning the tour last year was handled poorly within team Sky and I don’t think Chris Froome or the team supported him as they should have. What are your examples of him behaving like Lance?
I disagree with your comment “You don’t see a QS train out front grinding everyone down” If you go back to Bob Jungles win, he was off the front solo with the QS train sitting 2-8 in the chasing peloton discouraging any chase.
To me this was a form of blocking. While they were not physically in the way, the notion that they will sit on any effort to catch Bob and then counter attack to win is a for of “blocking”.
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Ok. 
Sorry, but this is extraordinary.
Lance is an admitted cheat, as bad as the sport has ever had. There are confirmed stories of him bullying and belittling riders. He’s ruined lives and attempted to ruin businesses.
What are the confirmed stories of Froome bullying riders like Lance did? Who has he “crushed” to make sure he wins? Where are the on or off-the-record stories of Froome being a “raging dick”? The worst criticism I’ve heard was from riders who thought he shouldn’t have raced while the salbutamol issue was unresolved.
You don’t have to be a fan. You can find him, or any other rider, irritating. But this is just a biased un-evidenced rant. And it’s this kind of rhetoric that leads to riders getting urine thrown at them.
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Uh yeah, me.
I’m definitely a classics guy too, but I think the GTs have become way over specialized. The inclusion of cobbles and gravel and such really take it back to its essence. I understand when the riders and DSs dont like it, its uncertainty and uncertainty is the enemy. In my sport, I feel the same way, eliminate all the variables. But as spectators our interests are diametrically opposed. Uncertainty is the essence of why we watch.
As far as Froome, he is widely known, along with his wife, of lack of accountability, engagement and acknowledgment that he has serious things to answer for in a forthright way. His wife in particular leads smear campaigns against any journo that questions him in the slightest.
He repeatedly plays the aw shucks role along with gosh I just want to be left alone when he knows full well that’s not an option. Its falseness. 100%. He is completely selfish and inauthentic. You can look no further than the nonsense Wiggo in the Tour and know, or dig into further if you wish. Jeremy Whittle and others have written plenty for anyone that cares to look.
See above.
If you have made the leap that my opinion of Froome as a hypocrite written on the internet leads to the piss throwers, i don’t know what to tell you.
So, no examples then.
Unless you count several of your deep unpleasantness.
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Did Froome sleep with your chick or what?
This isn’t professional wrestling, dude. You have no idea what Froome is like in real life. I do know pretty much for a fact that a Chris Froome has worked harder at being a TDF winner than pretty much anyone on this board has worked for anything in their entire life. That alone is admirable. Seems like attacking someone’s character without any evidence is not something winners do.
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Or, indeed, their wife’s.
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There’s plenty of evidence, I’m not going to go dig it all up for you. Changing your opinion of Froome isn’t something I care that much about to put in the effort. If you want to take the time you will find plenty of stuff, if not, you won’t.
Fwiw, his wife is significantly more of a heel to others than he is, and this is very widely known. Lots of petty, vindictive stuff. And I’m not gonna troll the internet to link all the examples, you can just Google Whittle, Rendell and others and get myriad cites.
You could start by linking one article.
An excerpt from Ventoux. I have no idea if you know who Maire is, but it’s a completely legitimate question that needs answering which is met by typical righteous indignation.
QS is classics oriented and Sky is tour oriented, you can’t be good at both (with the exception of kwiato)
Sky training methods are superior, look at how they transformed G and Kwiato, thats no coincidence, they clearly know something we don’t regarding training and nutrition.