Froome changes bike positions “by centimetres” after “oversight” caused errors

Chris Froome has said he recently changed his saddle height and the reach between his saddle and handlebars by centimetres after an “oversight” meant his position in recent seasons was radically different to when he raced for Sky/Ineos.

The four-time Tour de France winner explained he recently took both the bike he raced on this year and one of his old Sky/Ineos bikes to a specialist and they realised the position he’s been racing on recently – and for the last three seasons – was much different.

Froome added radical changes were made and he now believes the fact he has been racing with the wrong position has contributed to his not regaining the form he had before his 2019 life-threatening crash. Since returning from that crash, during a TT recon ride at the Dauphiné, he has been a shadow of his former self.

Indeed, co-owner of his Israel Premier Tech team, Sylvan Adams, hit out at Froome’s record since he joined the squad, saying in July the rider had not been value for money.

Froome has now told cyclingnews while he could understand that frustration from Adams, he had a contract for two more seasons and he intended to see out the terms of his deal and not quite the sport.

And after blaming a series of external factors in recent years – including his equipment this year – for his lack of form, he now says his position on the bike was a factor. He believes his position while riding for Israel Premier Tech was so far removed from his Sky/Ineos days, it has to have had a big negative impact on his performance.

“I’ve made some big changes to the position on the bike and I’m hoping that will help me get closer to my old ways again,” he told cyclingnews. “At first I thought it was age starting to catch up with me (after feeling back pain) but then I started questioning my position actually on the bike and then started comparing it.

“I had one of my old bikes from Team Sky/Ineos days so I was able to compare the position on the two different bikes. I found that my reach, so from saddle to the handlebars, was over three centimetres of difference between the two bikes, longer on the current bike.

“I took my old bike and went to a specialist and found very big discrepancies between my positions. But now we’ve made some big changes, more than centimetres in terms of saddle height, in terms of the reach, it’s really a lot, we’re not talking millimetres.

“It’s a positive thing for me. I’ve found it’s given me a lot of added motivation now because it might be part of the puzzle, missing pieces, as to why I haven’t quite found the level that I’ve wanted to get to.”