THE HISTORY MAN...
IT’S A SPANISH HIGH FOR FAB FROOME
HELL on a bike was how one professional rider described Altode L’Angliru. Yesterday it descended into hell on earth, gusting winds and rain turning the most torturous climb in professional cycling into the ultimate test of physical and mental endurance.
Those who populate the pro peloton are among the toughest guys in sport but this must have ranked high among their most gruelling days in the saddle and the fact that Chris Froome still emerged as the leader of the Vuelta a Espana says much about the man.
With just the roll into Madrid to come today, Froome’s place among the pantheon of cycling’s greats is now almost certainly secure. After four Tour de France wins, a rare Grand Tour double places him among the very best. Only Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault had ever won the Tour and the Vuelta in the same year, and when Hinault did it back in 1978 the Spanish race was still staged in the spring.
Nobody, however, has ever foll owed victory on t he Champs Elysees with another Grand Tour win in the same season and the manner in which this title will be earned makes it all the more impressive.
‘It’s been a rollercoaster — absolutely relentless,’ said Froome. ‘It’s a relief now to finish and to go to Madrid. It probably is my greatest achievement, being the first person to win the Tour de France and then go on to win the Vuelta.
‘ That is probably the toughest Grand Tour I’ve ever ridden. There was something different happening every day. I’ve had good days and then I’ve been lying on the ground, bleeding, thinking my race might be over.’
There really are few ascents quite like this in Europe, the sight of the road rising almost vertically at the Cuena les Cabres after a series of spiteful switchbacks enough to break the resolve of most mortals. Walking up it was hard enough, given the conditions. The sight of team vehicles wheel-spinning on the steeper slopes made it all the more dramatic for spectators seeking shelter against the rock faces.
To race bicycles through the mist towards the blustery summit must have taken some doing. Prior to their arrival officials even had to re assemble a podium battered by one particularly vicious gust. It was the day of days — a 117km stage with two nasty climbs before the final eight-mile rise to L’Angliru and what also amounted to some seriously perilous decents.
It was here that Vincenzo Nibali first tried to test Froome, stretching the peloton by hurtling down the soaking wet tarmac at speeds approaching 90kmh.The sight of a motorbike hitting a barrier and Marc Soler crashing badly on one corner added to the sense of danger. Nibali, too, came off despite his skill and courage as a descender. The Italian, who came into this stage in second place, just 97 seconds down on Froome, was back in contact with the race leader before the concluding ascent and so the duel to the finish began. ‘I wanted to reassure you about my condition after the fall,’ he later tweeted. ‘Some abrasion and bad knock to the ribs! Tomorrow will be tense.’
It was fascinating to watch, even if the Spanish were clearly more interested in Alberto Contador marking his last competitive ride as a professional with a dramatic solo finish. Here they really don’t worry about the doping conviction.
Behind the Spaniard the real battle was unfolding, Froome seemingly in a commanding position with four Sky team-mates still acting as escorts on the lower slopes of the Angliru. But when Nibali upped the pace, only Wout Poels remained at Froome’s side, with the British rider now clinging to the Italian’s wheel and Poels tracking Froome.
The long, brutal straight of the Cuena les Cabres proved Nibali’s undoing, however, with Poels and Froome pulling clear and almost catching Contador, whose lead had stretched to more than a minute at one stage, by the finish. Contador celebrated wildly at the summit but Poels and Froome were only 18 seconds back, with the four-times Tour winner clearly emotional as he crossed the line, embracing his loyal super-dome stique. It amounted to some performance from Froome — another powerful demonstration of his strength only days after it seemed he was vulnerable on the steepest gradients.
It was only on Wednesday, after all, that he was dropped by Nibali on Alto de Los Machucos in what seemed an ominous repeat of the struggles he endured on the climb to Peyragudes at this year’s Tour.
But Froome responded to that by stealing back time on the 2014 Tour winner the next day and by last night his lead had been extended to two minutes and 15 seconds.
Three times Froome has finished runner- up but this time he was imperious, as were the team that so dominates professional cycling despite the issues they continue to face with the anti-doping authorities. Not that such concerns occupied Froome’s thoughts yesterday. He was focused only on survival, on victory, on history, and on the mighty Alto de L’Angliru.