Chris Froome won the Tour de France three times and finished second in the Spanish Vuelta three times, consolidating his status as one of the most successful modern cyclists.
An athlete born in Kenya played for his homeland until in 2008 he received permission to speak for the UK. So began his successful collaboration with the British team, for which he won the bronze medal in the time trial at the London Olympics in 2012 and repeated this result in Rio de Janeiro four years later.
Other highlights of Froome's career were 10 victories in major tournaments not included in the Grand Tour, including three in the Criterium du Dofin, two in the Romandia and Oman tours, and the championship in the Criterium International, Vuelte Andalucía and Herald Sun Tour.
Chris Froom: biography
Chris was born on May 20, 1985 in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi, in the family of Clive and Jane Frum. He began racing in bicycles while living in South Africa. A creditable 17th place in the 2006 Commonwealth Games race in Melbourne revealed his talent to a wide audience. Soon in 2007, he entered into his first professional contract with the Konika Minolta team from South Africa.
The athlete's debut season, which included participating in the Tour of Britain, in 2008 led to a contract with the professional continental team of the second echelon of the International Union of Cyclists Barloworld, with whom he first took part in the Tour de France in July and took fourth place in Herald Sun Tour in October.
In March 2009, Frum won his first professional victory in the second stage of the Giro del Capo in South Africa and came 32nd in his first Giro d'Italia, after which he signed a contract with the newly formed Team Sky team to participate in her starting season of 2010.
Chris Froome showed his abilities by taking second place in the British National Time Racing, losing to Bradley Wiggins, fifth at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and ninth at the Tour du Var in France, before making a breakthrough in the 2011 season at Spain's Vuelta ".
Spanish Steps
Here Chris Froome (cyclist) won the exciting mountain 17 stage and as a result in the overall standings was second. It was his best finish at Vuelta, which repeated the achievement of Robert Millar. The athlete became the only Briton to take second place on the Grand Tour at that time.
Froome was a member of the UK team that helped Mark Cavendish win the group stage world championships. He came third on the Beijing Tour before the unforgettable 2012 for both the rider himself and British cycling in general.
After winning the seventh leg of the Tour de France race, Froome put on a leader’s shirt for a short while to help Wiggins become the first Brit to win the famous event. He finished second, and the UK team for the first time in history won a prize on the podium of this prestigious race.
In the same season, Froom received a bronze medal at the London Olympics, losing gold to Wiggins, and finished fourth at the Vuelta.
First triumph
Proving himself at the milestone race, Froome was in the best shape at the beginning of 2013: he won the Oman Tour, was second in the Tirreno Adriatico, won the Criterium International, the Criterium du Dofin and the Tour of Romandia even before taking part in the most prestigious cycling race in the world in France.
A serious claim to the championship was made after winning the eighth stage in Ax 3 Domaines, when he became the leader of the race and showed a great ride, defending first place all the way to Paris with victories on the legendary Mont Ventoux mountain and in section 17.
Frum hoped for a good result at the Yorkshire competition in 2014, but, unfortunately, the fall in the fifth stage interfered with his plans, although he finished the season strongly, showing the second result at the “Vuelta of Spain”.
Another victory
Chris did not disappoint in 2015 - he won the Ruta del Sol race in Spain and the Criterium du Dauphine ahead of the Tour de France. A strong finish at the third stage of the “Mur de Yui” in Belgium allowed Frum to put on the yellow jersey of the leader for a short time. After Tony Martin dropped out of the fight, the British regained it on the seventh stretch and did not take off all the way to Paris, demonstrating dominance, including the victory in Pierre-Saint-Martin.
Chris Froome is a cyclist who dedicated the year 2016 to trying to join the elite company who won the Tour de France three times. He started from first place in the Herald Sun Tour.
Third victory at Le Tour de France
Chris Froome “Tour de France” in 2016 won, perhaps, in the most exciting fight of his career. He decisively won in the eighth section of the competition, having dispersed on the descent from the mountain of Col de Peiresurd, he received a yellow leader's jersey, which he did not take off until Paris, although not without dramatic moments. At Stage 12, Team Sky member ran into Richie Port and Bauke Mollema after spectators forced the bike to stop. Froome lost time, and his UK teammate Adam Yates put on his yellow T-shirt for a short while until officials recovered Chris's time, allowing him to keep the lead over the remaining nine sites.
In Rio de Janeiro, Frum won his second Olympic medal, repeating his own bronze achievement in the time trial in London four years ago, after 12th place in a grueling road competition.
Arriving in Spain to participate in the “Vuelta”, one of the most difficult and most exciting Grand Tours of recent years, Chris fought on equal terms with his old rival Nairo Quintana, winning three stages, including the team time trial, and lost first place, taking second time for the third time in his sports career.
