Chris Froome: 'I didn't need to drop the other guys with Contador'
Froome followed Contador's attacks on the final climb of Vuelta a España stage six, but wasn't willing to work to drop rival contenders

Chris Froome (Sky), leader of the Vuelta a España, applauded Alberto Contador’s attack in the sixth stage to Sagunt, but felt that there was no need to join him in order to gain time on his rivals.
The three-time Vuelta winner of team Trek-Segafredo fired on the final climb of the stage, the Puerto del Garbí, and split the lead group. At one point, after Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) crashed, only Froome remained with Contador and Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates), who had returned from an early escape.
>>> Alberto Contador puts Chris Froome under pressure on Vuelta a España stage six
"It was still over 30 kilometres to the finish, and I don't need to drop other guys right now," Froome explained. "I'm happy with the position that I'm in."
Froome holds the top position with 11 seconds over Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) and 13 seconds over Nicolas Roche (BMC Racing).
Contador, 23rd at 3-10 minutes, is fighting back after losing time in the first team time trial and mountain days. On the third stage to Andorra, he said that he felt week and lost 2-33. Froome took over the lead jersey that day.
The Puerto del Garbí climb left 36.4 kilometres to race to the Sagunt finish. The other stars who lost time were able to return to Froome's group before they finished.
"I expected someone was going to go today, it was such a tough climb and it was obvious that someone from GC was going to take up the race," Froome added.
"Contador was going so strongly today and he forced the rest of us to go hard as well."
Chaves and 2010 winner Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), fifth at 36 seconds, appear to be Froome's strongest rivals with two weeks to race.
With the Vuelta a España Contador's last race, the attention is on him. Froome is not ruling him out either. He said, "We are still two weeks from Madrid, so anything can happen."
The worst happened to van Garderen on the stage. The American has been riding strongly with Froome and Chaves since the Spanish Grand Tour began on Saturday, but today, he fell at the top of the final climb. He crashed again in his chase and dropped from second to fourth overall.
"Exactly just what you said," Froome said in response to expect the unexpected in a bike race. "I didn't see it, but I heard it, we just went over the top.
"Even if you are at the front, a crash can happen out of the blue. That's part of racing too, but you just have to hope that that's not in your direction. He is a tough guy and I know he'll bounce back from it."
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
-
Jonas Vingegaard sweeps into yellow with solo win on Critérium du Dauphiné stage five
Tour de France hopeful shows his form as he takes the overall lead with an impressive stage win
By James Shrubsall • Published
-
I rode the 352-mile Unbound XL gravel race so you don't have to
Our North American Editor raced the 352-mile Unbound Gravel race and recounts her utterly Type 2 adventure.
By Anne-Marije Rook • Published
-
Back to Africa: Chris Froome on going back to his roots, his future and cycling's new generation
He’s come full circle, but is there time for another loop? We talk to the four-time Tour champ about his and African cycling’s future
By Adam Becket • Published
-
'Rough day' for Chris Froome after crash and punctures kill best chance of victory since 2018
The 37-year-old was up the road in a solo move for over 50km at the Tour du Rwanda on Thursday
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Chris Froome highlights dangers of long Covid after battle with virus
Four-time Tour de France champion warns of cardiovascular impact and says his VO2 max took a hit after illness
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Chris Froome labels WorldTour relegation a ‘death sentence for many teams’
Four-time Tour de France winner says UCI points system needs overhaul as Israel-PremierTech face relegation from the WorldTour
By Tom Thewlis • Last updated
-
Chris Froome still holds out hope for fifth Tour de France win
Israel-Premier Tech rider says the dream is "always there"
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
Chris Froome out of Tour de France after positive Covid-19 test result
Four-time winner and third on Alpe d’Huez stage forced to abandon on stage 18
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
The dog days aren't over at the Tour de France 2022: Canine chaos AND cuteness
‘Suddenly that beast crossed the street and I couldn’t go anywhere’ - stray dog causes Yves Lampaert to crash on stage 12
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
'I’m going to keep pushing. I don’t know what my limits are': Chris Froome climbs to best result since 2018
Israel-Premier Tech rider finished third on stage 12 of the Tour de France to Alpe d'Huez
By Adam Becket • Published