The perception that Chris Froome feels hampered in this Tour de France, much as Greg LeMond was with Bernard Hinault in the 1985 edition, will be furthered by an interview he has given on the subject of riding for Bradley Wiggins in this year’s race.
The Kenya-born Englishman is currently second overall, two minutes and five seconds behind Wiggins, having lost the bulk of that time due to a puncture in the first week. He has appeared stronger in the mountains, though, and has visibly held back at some points. That didn’t stop him from winning stage seven to La Planche des Belles Filles, nor of briefly gapping Wiggins on stage eleven prior to being called back over race radio.
“I know I would be able to win this Tour, [but] not at Sky. We have defined a strategy around Wiggins and everyone respects that,” he told L’Equipe. “I can not lie to you, it's difficult, really, but it's my job.”
Froome has been in this position before, riding for Wiggins in last year’s Vuelta until it became clear that the latter couldn’t win the race. Only then did Froome get the chance to show what he could do, but by then he had sacrificed too much time and was unable to catch Juan Jose Cobo (Geox TMC). He finished second overall with Wiggins third, but clearly could have won had he been allowed free rein from the start.
This year’s Tour marks the second time that he has ridden for his older team-mate, and it is more clear that cracks are starting to show. He’s articulating his frustration in interviews, even though that’s ‘off-message’ for the team, and now clearly states that he wants outright leadership next year if the Tour is as mountainous as is rumoured.
“If there are [many] climbs, I hope that Sky will be honest and all the team-mates will put themselves at my service, with the same loyalty I showed today,” he said.
However he’s not completely ruling out winning this year’s race. He said that if it is clear that Wiggins is faltering in the Pyrenees, that he will play his card to ensure the team keeps yellow.
“If I feel that we can lose the Tour, I will follow the best, either Evans or Nibali, to preserve our chances,” he said. It is unclear if this is an agreed team strategy, or if Sky will want him to continue to pace Wiggins if he is faltering.
In truth, it’s hard to see Froome given a green light for 2013 as Wiggins will be the defending champion. He’s also got a far longer-running relationship with British Cycling and, when compared to Froome who switched to a GB licence in 2008, has also a longer-running link to Britain itself.
Froome’s best chance of winning would possibly be to move to a different team, but a major complication is the fact that he signed a new three- year contract with Sky in advance of this season.
He’s therefore bound to race there until the end of 2014, unless another team agrees to buy him out and can convince Sky’s lawyers to agree to the sale.