London: French cycling great Bernard Hinault has said that Chris Froome could target a sweep of all three Grand Tours next year – a feat previously assumed to be mission impossible in cycling.
“Froome is definitely the champion of his generation,” Hinault, who did the double in 1978, was quoted as saying by ‘The Times’ Tuesday. “He dominates, he leads the field. He adapts his style depending on his rivals.”
Hinault thinks Froome could end all the arguments about his greatness if he took on the Giro, Tour and Vuelta next year. “I even think it’s possible to win the three grand tours,” Froome had said after winning the Vuelta in Spain.
Froome has already said a fifth Tour de France is his priority next season but left the door open for cycling equivalent of the ‘Grand Slam’.
Team Sky rider Froome was confirmed Sunday as the winner of the Vuelta – reckoned to be tougher this year than the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France. It came just 49 days after standing on top of the podium in the yellow jersey in Paris, having claimed a fourth Tour de France title.
Froome is only the third rider to win the Tour and Vuelta in the same year but the first to do so since the Vuelta was moved to later into the furnace-like Spanish summer. To do it involved a total ride of 6,862km over 73 mountain summits and 165 hours in the saddle.
Yet despite his superhuman efforts Froome’s achievement will not resonate around Britain in the same way Andy Murray’s two Wimbledon titles or Mo Farah’s world and Olympic golds did.
“I‘m not going to hold my breath,” Froome said Monday after his return here when asked whether he might make the shortlist for the BBC’s prestigious ‘Sports Personality’ having been overlooked last year.
Froome’s natural modesty and the fact that the respect of those within cycling – fellow riders and fans who follow the sport closely – counts more to him than celebrity status means he is unlikely to lose sleep.
Reuters
