Chris deserves more credit for astonishing feat
After previous snubs, it would be criminal if Froome is not on Sports Personality shortlist
It frustrates me that people in this country do not give Chris Froome more credit. I think we take his achievements for granted, as though riders do what he does all the time. As a recently retired pro, perhaps I have a different perspective. But, believe me, what he is doing is extraordinary. Not just extraordinary; unprecedented. No one has ever won the Tour and then the Vuelta. He is making history.
The reasons Chris is not more popular in Britain than he is are manifold and well known by now. He was born in Kenya, grew up in South Africa and lives in Monaco; he does not come back to the UK all that much. In fact, I think even he would probably admit deep down that he feels more African than British.
All of which is fine. You cannot help where you are born or the culture that instils within you. Chris chose to ride for Britain because it helped to advance his career. I have no problem with that.
The irony is that, had he chosen to ride under the Kenyan flag, I think he would be a lot more popular than he is. He might be a true global superstar.
Either way, I think the British public struggle with that side of him.
Then you have got the issue that he rides for Team Sky, who are not everyone’s cup of tea and who are under a great deal of public scrutiny at the moment.
Chris is not naturally charismatic or witty. Do not get me wrong, he is a very gentle and interesting man away from the racing scene. But he is not naturally the most outgoing person. His job is to win races and while he may look like an accountant, he is a stone-cold killer as a sportsman.
Too clinical for some. No one likes it when one team or rider dominates. It has always been the same, from Jacques Anquetil to Eddy Merckx to Miguel Indurain. Sky are at that point now and that counts against Chris. But it is unfair because, when you look at the way he races, Chris is actually a lot more attacking than people give him credit for.
I will rephrase that. He can ride in whatever manner is necessary to win. If that means attacking, then he will attack, if it means defending, he can do that, too.
The way he destroyed everyone at last year’s Tour proved his versatility. It was not at all in the classic Sky manner his detractors would have you believe; the Skybot train that simply rides on the front, shutting down every attack, then allowing Chris to clean up on the time trials.
Froome won on a descent, into crosswinds, on a borrowed bike … he ran up Ventoux for goodness sake! That proved to me he does not care what people think, or how he looks on television. He cares about winning and, right now, he and Sky are cleaning up.
As cycling becomes cleaner and the differences become smaller, I have noticed grand tour riding has changed. It is no longer about flamboyant attacks (Alberto Contador aside, of course). It is more like motorsport; waiting for your opponent to make an error and then pouncing. Sky and Froome are masters at this. The argument that other teams could compete if they had the same budget is moot, but I suspect that, if you gave BMC or Cannondaledrapac the same budget, the outcome would be the same.
I am not a huge fan of awards or calling for honours but I thought it was a complete joke Chris was not nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2016 after winning the Tour in the manner he did and then following that up with Olympic bronze and a Vuelta podium. If he does not make the shortlist this time, it would be criminal and make a mockery of the whole thing.
David Millar won four Tour de France stages in his career and five at La Vuelta.