Nationality: British (formerly Kenyan)
Date of birth: May 20, 1985
Height: 185cm
Weight: 71kg
Team: Team Sky
Twitter: @chrisfroome

Chris Froome is a GC rider with six Grand Tour wins to his name – four at the Tour de France, then one each at the Vuelta a España and Giro d’Italia.

The Team Sky rider’s Giro d’Italia 2018 win puts him in an exclusive club with Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault – being just the third cyclist to have been defending champion at all three Grand Tours in one year.

He hasn’t (yet) managed to match the likes of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain, who all have five Tour de France wins to their name – having come third in the 2018 edition behind team mate Geraint Thomas and Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb).

Froome has been subject to some scrutiny over the course of 2018. In December 13 2017 news broke that he had returned an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for salbutamol at the 2017 Vuelta a España.

The drug is used to treat asthma, which Froome has suffered with from childhood. An athlete is allowed to use 1,600 micrograms of salbutamol in a 24-hour period without a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) – but Froome’s blood reportedly contained 2,000 nanograms per millilitre (ng/ml) – twice the permittable limit of 1,000 ng/ml.

On July 2 2018 the UCI announced the Froome had been cleared of the AAF – following consideration of evidence from its own experts and those at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). This leaves his Vuelta 2017 title intact and allowed him to ride the 2018 Tour de France.

There’s more detail on Froome and his salbutamol case here.

Chris Froome’s Giro d’Italia 2018

Despite the ongoing investigation, Froome was entitled to race the 2018 Giro d’Italia.

Froome moved into the lead of the race after an 80km break on stage 19, holding on to his margin following stage 20 and rolling in safely after a neutralised stage 21.

His race did not get off to the best start after he crashed in his recon for the opening time trial and finished 37 seconds down on defending champion Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb).

The Team Sky rider did manage to claw back some time with a win on stage 14’s summit finish of Mount Zoncolan – but until his heroic attack on stage 19 he wasn’t expected to perform well in Italy.

Chris Froome’s 2017 Tour de France

Froome’s 2017 Tour de France lead up started less reassuringly than previous years, when he missed out on a podium spot at warm up race Critérium du Dauphiné. He also commented that the route didn’t suit him as well as previous years, thanks to fewer time trial km’s and a limited number of summit finishes.

The 2017 Tour de France began well, however. Whilst team mate Geraint Thomas took the win in the first stage, Froome finished in sixth place, 12 seconds down.

He retained a strong position, then, when Italian rider Fabio Aru (Astana) attacked his group of GC contenders on stage five, he countered – gaining enough time to move into the race lead and don the yellow jersey.

Froome maintained his rule over the race for for a week – losing it for the first time in his career when an explosive effort from Aru in the final 300 metres of stage 12 saw him distanced. However, Aru had few team mates around to support him and Froome regained the jersey on stage 14. 

Froome stayed in the prime position, and on the penultimate stage, a technical time trial in Marseille, he put in an excellent performance to take third overall, and secure a grasp on the yellow jersey that meant he could roll into Paris in the lead to take his fourth Tour title. 

Chris Froome at the 2017 Vuelta

With a fourth Tour de France title in the bag and Froome peaking at the perfect time, the Brit and his colleagues turned their attention to a potential Tour-Vuelta double.

The first stage saw Froome and Team Sky take on a team time trial and finish nine seconds down on winners, BMC, putting him in a good position.

Stage three saw Froome pick up some vital bonus seconds after Vincenzo Nibali outdid the GC field in a reduced sprint. Froome’s endeavours earlier in the stage also saw him gain some extra seconds in a intermediate sprint, gaining just enough time to put himself in the red jersey by two seconds.

The race’s first summit finish on stage five saw Froome put some time into rivals Nibali and Fabio Aru, then on stage eight Froome attacked on the stage’s final climb and put time into Contador and fellow rivals Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) and Nicolas Roche (BMC).

Froome showed his Tour de France form in full colours after attacking on stage nine‘s final climb to take the day.

Two crashes and a 20 second loss saw Froome and his Team Sky colleagues put under pressure on stage 12.  However, his time trial prowess saw him gain extra time on the stage 16 ITT and by the end of the final stage he wore both the leaders jersey and the points jersey, further securing his place in cycling history. 

The win is now being investigated following Froome’s ‘Adverse Analytical Finding’ blood test result which showed elevated levels of salbutamol. 

Chris Froome’s career to date

Chris Froome made history in 2015, becoming the first British rider to win two editions of the Tour de France (2013 and 2015), and the first to win both the overall title and the King of the Mountains classification. He followed this up with a third Tour win in 2016.

Froome went into the 2016 Tour in good form, having won his third Critérium du Dauphiné title in June – his previous two coming in the same years as his Tour wins.

With two individual time trials and a mountainous route from the first week, the 2016 Tour de France suited the Team Sky rider well and he duly delivered his third Tour victory, elevating himself among the all-time stage racing greats.

Froome then followed this up with a bronze in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games time trial and two stage wins and second place overall (to Nairo Quintana) at the Vuelta a España.

Froome was born in Kenya and schooled in South Africa, swapping to British nationality in 2008, just after the Beijing Olympics. British Cycling officials had identified him in early 2008 when they learned of his British family and saw his talent. At the time he was riding for Barloworld.

Despite frantic efforts, and Froome’s existing dual nationality, they weren’t able to get a release form from the Kenyan cycling federation (with whom he was registered) in time for Froome to ride the road race at the Beijing Olympics.

Froome has been with Team Sky since the start in 2010, but endured a torrid first two years. In fact, Froome was almost dropped from the team, but finally came good at the 2011 Vuelta a Espana where he finished second.

As the race went on, and Froome’s full abilities were finally on show, Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford was so desperate to re-sign Froome he flew out to Spain on the Murdoch private jet with a new contract in hand.

It was a wise move by Brailsford as he secured the services of the man who looks set to be a dominant feature at the Tour de France for years to come.