Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
The DEFINITE ARTICLE
We ask a celebrity a set of devilishly probing questions – and only accept THE definitive answer. This week it’s record-breaking cyclist Chris Froome
‘I find baking relaxing and fun. My white chocolate cookies with cranberries are pretty delicious’
The prized possession you value above all others…
My four yellow jerseys for winning the Tour de France in 2013, 15, 16 and 17. When I finish racing I’ll put them over the mantelpiece.
The biggest regret you wish you could amend…
Not going home to see my mum Jane in Nairobi when she fell ill with bone marrow cancer. She was waiting for treatment when she died in 2008 from a heart attack. She was in her late 50s, so it was a huge shock.
The temptation you wish you could resist…
I get a craving for white chocolate after training – I can demolish three Milkybars.
The pet hate that makes your hackles rise...
People with bad breath who have no idea of personal space.
The book that holds an everlasting resonance…
The Power Of One by Bryce Courtenay, about an English boy growing up in South Africa in the 1930s and 40s and being bullied at boarding school. My parents are English, but I was born and brought up in Nairobi, then South Africa, and faced similar problems.
The priority activity if you were the Invisible Man for a day…
I’d sit in my competitors’ tour buses to hear their race strategies.
The film you can watch time and time again…
Love Actually. I watch it each year, usually at Christmas.
The person who has influenced you most…
My mum always encouraged me. She said that if I truly loved riding my bike then I’d do it better than anything else.
The figure from history for whom you’d most like to buy a pie and a pint…
Christopher Columbus. I’d ask how it felt discovering new countries.
Left: Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon in Love Actually. Above: baking. Right: a snowy Christmas Day in England
The unlikely interest that engages your curiosity…
Baking. I find it relaxing and fun. My white chocolate cookies with cranberries are pretty delicious.
The treasured item you lost and wish you could have again…
My hair! I blame it on long days in the sun, but I look at my two brothers and I know it’s hereditary.
The unending quest that drives you on…
To cross the finishing line first.
The poem that touches your soul…
I’m not into poetry, but I connect with the saying, ‘It’s not how many times you get knocked down that counts, it’s how many times you get back up.’
The misapprehension about yourself you wish you could erase…
People say I’m not British because of my South African accent. But my parents are English, I was brought up with British values and I couldn’t feel more British.
The event that altered the course of your life and character…
My parents divorcing when I was six. From then on I was either staying with Mum or Dad, which made me a bit of a nomad.
The piece of wisdom you would pass on to a child…
Find what you’re passionate about and make that your career.
The crime you would commit knowing you could get away with it…
I’d cycle on the M1 – it’d be scary but great fun.
The song that means most to you…
We Are The Champions by Queen. The guys in my team have played it after I’ve won the Tour de France.
The way you would spend your fantasy 24 hours, with no travel restrictions...
The day would begin with a cycle ride from our home in Monaco along the Côte d’Azur with a couple of old mates from school. We’d do 50 miles, just enough to justify the pile of pancakes with Nutella we’d have for breakfast. I’d go scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef with my wife Michelle, then we’d then take our son Kellan, who’s almost two, to England where it would be a snowy Christmas Day. We’d have a traditional lunch and play in the snow. Later, we’d go on safari in the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya with my dad Clive, my brothers Jonathan and Jeremy, and our cousins. We’d see all the big animals and stop off for sundowner cocktails. Then we’d go back to camp for a barbecued steak with chips. After drinks around the fire we’d crash out under the stars.
The happiest moment you will cherish forever…
Standing on the podium holding Kellan after winning this year’s Tour was incredible.
The saddest time that shook your world…
The moment my brother Jeremy called to tell me mum had died.
The unfulfilled ambition that continues to haunt you…
To climb Kilimanjaro. My family did it when I was four and I had to wait at the bottom.
The philosophy that underpins your life…
Life will give you what you put into it. Nothing comes to you for free.
The order of service at your funeral…
I’d like them to sing O Come All Ye Faithful – I remember my brothers and I competing to see who could sing the chorus loudest in church. I’d like my ashes scattered on top of a mountain along the Tour de France route.
The way you want to be remembered…
As a kind person, a good father and husband and a fierce but fair competitor who inspired the next generation.
The Plug…
Chris is an ambassador for United For Wildlife, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s campaign to protect endangered species. Visit unitedforwildlife.org