Having spent the off-season riding the odd criterium, jetting off to south Asia and to top it all off, getting married to fiancee Michelle Cound last week, Chris Froome is keen to get going with his preparation for the 2015 season.
“I went over to India for a bit and to the Himalayas,” he told the Team Sky website about his downtime.
“It was something quite different and I really enjoyed it. After any season I think it’s important to reset and re-calibrate. I’m actually really hungry to start training again and keen to get back going.”
The British rider’s 2014 season was potentially the most trying of his career, as crashes blighted and eventually ended his main goal of the season: the defence of his Tour de France title.
Still, Froome holds the opening stages in Yorkshire and London as the high point of his turbulent year, as despite the disappointment having to withdraw from the Tour, he says it was a “massive and incredible experience” for him.
“I think the biggest point of the year for me were the first few stages of the Tour,” he said.
“Starting up there in Yorkshire was something I’ll never forget. Coming in as the previous winner and having that home support was huge. “
The 29-year-old’s attention was immediately drawn to the Vuelta a España after his Tour disappointment, and despite dominant performances in races like the Tour de Romandie earlier in the year, his ride in the Vuelta was personally the most pleasing for him.
“In terms of performance and satisfaction, I think the Vuelta was definitely the one. It left me with the best feeling,” he said.
The Tour was a disappointment but I’ve still got a few victories I can be happy about this year.
“Also finishing the Vuelta off in such a decent way, after having all the setbacks – that for me was probably more important than anything else. It means I’ll be able to go forward into next year without starting from a negative position. I can go in with a clean slate and give it my best shot.”
And with next year in mind, Froome has been enigmatic about the races he’ll target, calling the Giro a “big opportunity” while saying that riding the Tour would require “careful consideration.”
Most of all though, the Kenyan-born Sky rider just wants to be ‘in the mix’ with the other GC contenders at the front of the headline races in 2015.
“Looking to next year, my key goal is just returning to good condition and being at the front of a race again,” Froome said.
“That’s a really big motivation for me. Whether it’s the Tour or any other race, it’s what I love doing. I love racing and being able to compete at the front – to be with a team of guys who you enjoy being with, and who you work together well with.
“That’s what gets me through the winter when I’m riding those long hours on my own.”
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