Chris Froome, with his fourth Tour de France in the bag thanks to one of the strongest
Keith Hernandez Jersey final weeks he can remember putting in, is now likely to move on to the Tour of Spain, depending on his form. Tour de France 2017: final stage – as it happened Dylan Groenewegen wins the final stage of the race but Chris Froome is the hero of the day, winning his third straight Tour and fourth overall Read more “I’ll have to see how I recover from this and how I back up in training going into the Vuelta,” Froome said. “It’s always been the plan to go on and do the Vuelta but I’ll have to see how I shape up over the next 10 days and when I get back into training.” In the longer term Froome expects to continue riding for the next five years, although he is not sure how long his Tour winning sequence will last. “I’d still like to keep racing into my late thirties and keep competing for the yellow jersey. I’d like to be here for the next five years, trying to win it, but it certainly doesn’t get any easier. This year was the closest it’s ever been for me and it’s only going to be harder next year. I’m definitely getting older. “Each year I’m learning more, developing as a rider, becoming a more complete rider. I’ve worked on my descending, my positioning in the bunch, but tactically I’ve got more to learn. I hope I can still improve. Every year we’ll have to try and adapt to whatever the Tour throws at us.” Looking back at this year’s Tour, Froome said he felt the conservative racing among the overall contenders was largely down to the course. “It made it a much more cagey race between the main favourites once we hit the climbs because there were so few summit finishes. We basically ended up following each other and, between us, we were afraid to lay it all on the line in case things didn’t go well and there wasn’t a back-up or an opportunity to rectify it. This year was certainly the hardest for me personally, given the lack of mountain-top finishes and time trial kilometres compared to other years. Chris Froome wins fourth Tour de France after Champs élysées procession Read more “The goal was
http://www.officialmetsproshop.com/Kevin_Long_Jersey to be strong in the third week of the Tour and, especially after a couple of hard days in the Alps, it’s worked out really well. Tim Kerrison has been a major part of that and I have him to thank for the planning, coming into the Tour the way I did. I wasn’t quite at my best in the Dauphiné but I’ve never felt this good in the third week of a Grand Tour. Even though I was pushing to the limits, I always felt as if I was in control.” Froome remains adamant that the ongoing issues around Team Sky – principally the Ukad inquiry into allegations of possible wrongdoing at the team, which are denied by the squad – should have no bearing on his fourth victory, that in no sense should they detract from it. “No. They don’t concern me,” he said. “It’s really something that really doesn’t concern me and I’m not going to waste energy getting myself caught up in it when it doesn’t involve me.” Some might argue this is bordering on myopia but cutting oneself off from the world and compartmentalising surrounding issues is probably part of being a successful Tour rider. Asked about Sir Dave Brailsford’s run-in with a journalist from cyclingnews.com, which made the news on the rest day, Froome gave a similar reply: “When you have a three?week bike race, especially one that’s been this close for the yellow jersey, it’s not something that’s on your radar. It’s just noise in the background. It’s the same as a Frenchman going ‘Boo’ at the roadside – you hear it but it doesn’t stop you pedalling or going in the direction you need to goBritish Cycling members have answered the call of Sir Chris Hoy and voted to amend the sport’s governance structures, safeguarding around ?43m of Sport England and UK Sport funding. At an extraordinary general meeting of its national council on Saturday, British Cycling accepted proposals to fall in line with the code of
Steve Cishek Youth Jersey the sports minister, Tracey Crouch, to promote diversity by October. Had it not have done so, then the sport faced losing more than ?40m of UK Sport and Sport England funding, a point Hoy was eager to make in a rallying cry on Friday. A 75% majority was required for the reforms to go through but three of 10 regions had rejected the proposals at regional mandate meetings, prompting the six-time Olympic champion to issue an open letter to those responsible for making the decision. Allez allez! Le Tour de France - a photo essay Read more The proposals were approved, though, with one amendment that would allow the 10 English regions to nominate a board member. Julie Harrington, British Cycling’s chief executive, said: “Today, British Cycling’s National Council voted in favour of changes to our constitution in order to ensure that we are compliant with the Code for Sports Governance. “Our membership also voted for an amendment to create the role of a director nominated by the English regions to go alongside those nominated by Scottish Cycling and Welsh Cycling. We have heard the concerns of our National Councillors and we will actively work with our membership to ensure that the voice of the enthusiast remains central to our purpose. “Securing funding for elite and grassroots participation through these changes will enable us to inspire more people on to two wheels across communities the length of the country. “Without secured funding we will not be able to share our love of the sport and enable others to try it. Our sport is growing and growing up. Today’s vote is the start of an exciting new chapter for British Cycling and our sport.” On Friday, Hoy had clearly been worried which way the vote was going to go and signed off his letter by writing: “This weekend’s vote is vital for all areas of our sport, and I would urge everyone with a vote to consider the implications that this withdrawal of funding would have on not just cycling, but our society as a whole.” This month, Table Tennis England had its Sport England funding of almost
http://www.officialmarinershop.com/Taijuan_Walker_Jersey?9m suspended after its members narrowly voted against accepting the same proposals. The governing body has called an EGM next month in a bid to reverse the outcome
