We come to another power building in our midst. Israel Start-Up Nation (ISN) made the biggest signing this offseason bringing over the Grand Tour rider of this generation, Christopher Froome after he spent a decade with the British Sky/Ineos squad. At thirty-five years old and coming back from a seeming 18-month rehab from a broken leg, Chris Froome seems over the hill. Surely, his is a storyline all shall watch for this coming year. Can he return to any sort of remote form like his form in 2015, 2016, 2017, or even 2018 where he won Grand Tour after Grand Tour: in fact at one time he was the reigning winner of all three Grand Tours at once. All will say he is one of the least stylish riders of all time: with his long skinny limbs, legs spinning at 110 rpm and his gangly elbows sticking out he sometimes reminds me of Gollum riding a bike. Additionally, his dominance has been too strong—his grip too tight, too iron-ous—and thus not many sing his praises in victory: even I admit his 2017 Tour and Veulta double was astonishingly slumberous, especially for such a historic feat. And yet I go against the grain, Chris Froome shall always be one of my favorite riders. It will still be decades and decades from now before I forget watching him pace Bradley Wiggins up La Planche del Belles Filles in 2012, only to have the energy to come around and be the first crescent the horizon and win the stage on that now iconic climb. I said in that moment: “This man will win the Tour next year!” And he did. He is a fierce competitor: battling Contador, Quintana (Arkea-Samsaic), and Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) round after round; scrapping and fighting for every second, remember the Tour stage he rode away in the crosswinds with Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe); he absolutely never counts himself out and only victory is satisfying, yes that day at the Giro comes to our minds; how many other cyclists who break their leg at 34 would go through this massive rehab process to maybe come back for more shots at Tour glory. Froome sits on four Tour victories, the record is five. Were he to win a 5th Tour his name would be alongside Merckx, Anquetil, Hinault, and Indurain, and surely that would be the zenith and top of the summit for Chris Froome. Surely, I do daresay I hope he can join that club, and from what I can tell though he has not had many fans in the past: most would love to see him come back from injury and win that fifth one also. Yes, he has not yet ridden a race, but Chris Froome is the already the heart of this team, and around him they are assembling a strong supporting cast.
The competition is so fierce this year, and Froome’s Tour goal must be the team’s top priority, thus at the Tour surely all shall be domestiquing for Froomey, no matter their status. But surely, surely especially to ensure results elsewhere around the calendar Dan Martin and Mike Woods will have their own leadership opportunities. Both have excellent results in the Ardennes and can ride to a Top 10 placing in a Grand Tour. I say this not just because he is one of my favorite riders, but because it is true: Mike Woods has proven himself to be the best and most consistent on the ultra-steep narrow goat-track roads. Surely, when the gradient is over 20% it will be he who pushes the pace and never more than one or two men can latch on to him if any. I daresay it’s quite a talent, quite a thing to be the best at…and yet, surely even Woodsy dreads such steep climbs, surely he is in just as much pain on those gradients even if he is riding away faster. Yes, I think he shall be a great pairing with Dan Martin, the multiple Monuments winner, and a tough man of top class. Remember the Tour where he rode to 6th place with multiple broken vertebrae, it was a ferocious effort and one deserving a full ballad of its own. These two shall make a great pair attacking and counterattacking the field down to an elite bunch in all of the hilly Classics. But when they come to the Tour—and surely they must—they shall have to lay down their own ambitions and work for their rider of riders, Chris Froome.
Another who shall surely also be at the Tour is an additional new recruit Israel Start-Up Nation have brought in, Daryl Impey. Surely, surely this veteran shall be the team’s Road Captain. In charge of team tactics amidst the chaos of the race itself. So often, so often he was in the mix and at the heart of so many great Greenedge/Mitchelton victories; quite honestly I was shocked by the news ISN wooed him away from that Down Under team that he loved so much. But perhaps the money here was too good to pass up, or the prospect of aiding Froome for a 5th Tour sounds like an appealing new challenge towards the end of his career.
The list of quality goes on, surely ISN’s pockets are deep to assemble such names. Sep Vanmarcke, the nearly-man of the Classics. Alex Dowsett with that emotional Giro stage win last year. Carl Fredrik Hagen is surely a promising talent, in 2019 in his first pro season he finished 8th Overall at the Vuelta. Matthias Brandle, Tom Van Asbroeck, Alessandro de Marchi, Paddy Bevin, Rick Zabel, and Mads Wurtz all seem still winners on their day or solid domestiques for the Tour. Yes, this is another team arming up to challenge to be the best in the sport. They have made great strides the past two off seasons in assembling the cast, but last year the results were not yet flowing in. That of course must be priority number one this year: the budget is being spent, returns must come in through results if the budget is to get even bigger next year. Chris Froome has only one appointment that really matters in July, and there are still massive question marks about how he will perform there. Thus, where else will this cast of talent win before they go all in for July. We shall see, yes, we shall have to see.
Cycling Odysseys 