- Music
- 03 Nov 15
Over at the Sports Summit section, the two-time winner of the Tour de France talks about the shadow of drug controversies, how technology could impact the sport - and going for the hat trick
While Liessa De Decker is frantically reporting on all the goings on at the RDS, our ace lenswoman Kathrin Baumbach is shooting up the whole place; check out her snaps here.
When Paddy Cosgrave announces the next guest, Chris Froome, he compares cycling to working in technology. 'It's hard work, and they always try to take you down.'
Thinking back to the last Tour de France, we all know how Froome struggled with the criticism thrown his way from every corner, but still he won and everyone's forgotten about it already. When Froome walks onto the Centre Stage, you no longer see the skinny guy we got used to seeing during the Tour. Not to say he let himself go completely, but it is a relief to know that these professionals are only human. "I've had a month off, so I'm in terrible condition', he laughs.
The Tour still can't let go of its past, and the name of Lance Armstrong comes up again. It's not easy to carry this kind of history in sport in general, but the Tour always had a special place in every cycling-lover's heart. It used to be the highlight of the year, whereas now every cyclist winning or even trying to win is suspicious. 'I try not to think about the past.' Which is probably easier said than done when you've been accused so many times yourself, even if you have proven your innocence over and over again.
Talking about the Tour next year he says it still feels like miles away, an unachievable goal, and somehow he still managed to win twice already, but that only increases the pressure. He'll go on training camp this January with his team mates, claiming that it's thanks to them that he was able to win the Tour. 'We went into the tour with a simple tactic: take an early lead, so we had something to fall back on near the end, because we all knew the penultimate stage was going to be the toughest and it was. That's when I really had to rely on the team and they won me the race.'
It's a physical as well as a mental struggle. When you're one on one fighting to get to the top first, that's when fight really begins. It's all about who breaks first, so how do you keep motivated? 'For me there are two ways. One is on the back of disappointment, which in the beginning is hard of course, but it's fantastic. I start analysing, thinking where I went wrong and it is a motivation to come back stronger. It's more difficult to come out of something stronger when you already did well.'
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Team Sky has won four Tours in the last six years, so you would think they kind of know how to do it by now. 'It's a constant challenge and the thing is, the team needs to be up for it. In a team you have to align the individual goals with the team goals.'
There has always been a big debate about technology in cycling. How far can you go? Lots of people prefer the old ways, where there was no radio communication between the cyclists and their team leader. Many people want that back to bring back some of the excitement in the sport, but of course there are good and bad sides to everything.
In Team Sky they use data in training and they have electronic gear on bikes, but if Froome could have a say in the matter there would be other use of technology as well. 'I think the biggest innovation could be in broadcasting, letting people hear what's being said through our radio. That could make it more exciting for the people watching.'
Does technology in cycling take away from the enjoyment? 'Not really. At the end of the day I still get on a bike and that's what I fell in love with.'