Sylvan Adams, the co-owner of Chris Froome’s Israel Premier Tech team, has questioned the credibility of the British rider’s recent comments claiming his performances of the last few seasons were undermined by his bike position being out by centimetres due to an “oversight”.
Other comments by Adams also call into question the prospect of Froome ever riding a Grand Tour again. Adams said he had seen no results that suggest Froome will make an eight-rider team for a three-week race over the remaining two years of his contract.
“I think people are seeing Chris’s comments about his bicycle position and set-up and… you know, does it sound logical that somebody who was winning Grand Tours, won seven Grand Tours, including four Tours to France… he’s claiming his saddle position is off by a centimetre or whatever he’s saying…
“Does that sound credible for a guy who’s getting dropped, not even on the last climbs of races but, you know, early climbs in races? And I leave that for Chris’s fans and for the cycling public to judge.”
Adams was speaking to the RadioCycling podcastsaying he did not intend to disrespect Froome and insisted there was no rift between them. However, he said while he still regarded Froome as the best Grand Tour rider of his generation, he could not continue to look back at performances he put out years ago.
“You know we’ve been very generous with Chris in terms of trying to help him, trying to give him the best possible equipment, the best possible conditions,” Adams said. “And just like last year, we’re going to be sitting down at December camp and we’re gonna plot out a racing calendar for him.
“And if he wants to race in a Grand Tour he will have to meet certain criteria and be one of the best eight members of our team to go to a Grand Tour. So right now, I haven’t seen any results from Chris that indicate that he’s at that level.
“But he’s very determined and if he meets… if he’s able to get into races and prove himself to be a relative force in a race… we’re not even talking about winning Grand Tours anymore. I don’t even think we’re talking about podiums at a Grand Tour. We’re talking about being a useful member of a Grand Tour team.
“If he’s able to demonstrate he’s at that level, sure, he’ll have every opportunity, the same way as other riders on the team. If he doesn’t meet that level, I mean, you can talk about his bike position until the cows come home. That’s still not going to earn him a spot on a Grand Tour team, his legs are going to have to speak to that.”
Adams also spoke of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel last month but did not accept the premise put to him that his riders may not want to ride, in the current climate, for a team with ‘Israel’ on their kit. He also dismissed the suggestion there would be a heightened security risk to his team next year, from people protesting the ongoing bombing of Gaza by Israel.
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