Nothing impossible for Froome

Chris Froome says “nothing is impossible” after his historic Tour de France and La Vuelta double.

The 32-year-old Briton completed victory in La Vuelta on Sunday to become the third rider to win the tours of France and Spain in the same year and the first since the Vuelta was moved to its current position in the calendar in 1995.

Froome has long eyed May’s Giro d’Italia from afar, knowing the Tour is his priority and it will likely remain so in 2018 when he will seek a fifth yellow jersey.

His achievement in the last three months has led some to suggest he could target all three grand tours in the same year.

Stephen Roche, who in 1987 won the Giro, Tour and the Road World Championships title, reckons it would be “humanly impossible”.

Asked if winning the Giro, Tour and Vuelta was a realistic aim, Froome told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I wouldn’t say it’s impossible, nothing’s impossible, but certainly it would take some doing.”

Froome has won four of the last five Tours and had finished runner-up in La Vuelta three times (2011, 2014 and 2016) before claiming the red jersey this year.

Belgium’s Eddy Merckx won a record 11 grand tours in his storied career and was known as ‘The Cannibal’ due to his appetite for victory.

Asked if he could hope to target Merckx’s achievement of 11 wins, Team Sky’s Froome said: “A completely different era.

“Eddy Merckx’s time of racing, he was able to win every single race on the calendar. The sport is transformed since his time.”