Says rivals will have to work pretty hard to get a spot on the podium, let along try for victory
He’s yet to win his first Tour but Chris Froome is setting his sights sky high: the Briton has said that he wants to aim for multiple victories in the race between now and the end of this decade.
“I've got my goals, and personally where I want my career to go is to target the Tour,” the 28 year old told The Times. “Not just this year but for the next six or seven years. [To] each time to line up at the Tour ready to try and contend for the yellow jersey. I am driven by that goal.”
The Team Sky rider has twice finished on the podium of a Grand Tour, achieving the feat in the 2011 Vuelta a España and in the 2012 Tour de France. He was also fourth in last year’s Vuelta.
He has been the most dominant of the Grand Tour riders this season, winning the Tour of Oman, Critérium International, the Tour de Romandie and the Critérium du Dauphiné. He also took either stages or the prologue in each of those.
“I have been a lot more consistent with my numbers this year and I have been able to hit the numbers that last year I thought were exceptional,” he said, talking about his form and power output. “And I feel I can still get better. Last year I felt: 'I am really flying now.' This year I am hitting that comfortably now.”
Froome will start the Tour as the favourite, and has a strong Sky team behind him. Last year’s winner Bradley Wiggins will however be absent, the Briton apparently below form after dropping out of the Giro and suffering a knee injury. However it is also rumoured that a reason for his absence is the months-long clash over leadership with Froome.
Asked about the 2012 winner’s absence, Froome at first says it’s ‘a shame’ but then talks about a benefit. “With Bradley there comes a certain feel of, 'We've got the defending champion, we have more respect in the peloton'. But it is also nice not to have that continuing pressure from the media,” he said, adding that he believes the team has all its bases covered anyway.
Such is the team’s strength, he believes it’s possible for the squad to target the first two places overall, as was achieved last year.
Team Sky did that in the Dauphiné after Richie Porte finished as runner-up to Froome, and he believes it could be on the cards in July.
“An interesting element now, with Richie sitting second, is in some people's minds,” he said. “They are going to have to work pretty hard to get a spot on the podium, let alone trying to go for the victory. It is probably moving the goalposts a bit.”