A simple error meant Froome’s race was nearly over before it began
WITH a CV that reads Triple Tour de France Champion, Chris Froome might be forgiven for leaving administrative responsibilities to his multi-million pound support team.
While his ultimate defeat came down to a matter of form and tactics, the lack of his signature on a form came agonisingly close yesterday to ruling one of Britain’s most successful ever sportsmen out of the Olympics road race before it had even begun.
Froome was eventually allowed to compete, but his efforts would be in vain as Britain’s best hope of an early gold wilted under the searing Rio sun.
In an disappointing but dramatic finish, Geraint Thomas – the leading Briton at the time – crashed on the steep and dangerous descent.
Two of the race leaders Vincenzo Nibali, an Italian, and Colombian rider, Sergio Henao, also saw their hopes of a medal disappear when they collided and landed in a heap.
But when Froome lined up on the start line in Rio he forgot to register with the organisers – an oversight that could have seen him pulled from the race.
He only realised his mistake moments before the race got under way when Natalie Pirks, a BBC reporter, and her colleague, Andrew Cropper, shouted at him from the sidelines.
Pirks said last night: “Froome was lined up, happily waiting, while PA called for him to sign in. We’ve had to tell him.”
She tweeted: “So if Froome wins a medal here, he’s going to name check me and @andrew_cropper for saving his bacon, right?!”
Yesterday was Froome’s first opportunity to equal Sir Bradley Wiggins’s feat of winning the Tour and Olympic gold in the same year.
Although the British riders eventually fell short in a dramatic contest won by Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet, Froome’s best chance may well come in Wednesday’s time trial, an event he is favourite to win.
The British team of Froome, Steve Cummings, Thomas, Adam Yates and Ian Stannard had been on the front of the peloton as they rolled over the start line for the 237.5-kilometre race.
Despite a valiant attack on the final climb, Froome was unable to catch the leaders and fell out of contention.
But the final descent to the finish at Copacabana would prove decisive. Thomas saw his hopes end with 10km to go when he came to grief, apparently sliding into a storm gutter, while still in contention for a medal.
The Welsh rider managed to dust himself off and still finished as the bestplaced British rider in 11th place, one ahead of Froome, before heading for hospital to check up on his injuries.
Thomas later thanked the fans who had sent him messages of sympathy, writing on Twitter: “Gutted for it to end like that with it all to play for.”
Nibali and Henao also crashed – leaving the eventually bronze medallist Poland’s Rafal Majka out on his own, with 8km remaining.
Majka was then caught by Van Avermaet, and the Dane Jacob Fulsang who fought it out in the final sprint.
Froome, born in Nairobi after his English father, Clive, moved to Kenya to set up a holiday company with his mother Jane. Speaking before the race, he had described how the one-off nature of the event presented as much pressure as the Tour de France. “It’s a one-day event,” he said. “We don’t have 21 chances, like we do at the Tour de France. The legs are feeling good, we’ve got a great team here, and we hope to be in the thick of things. “The time trial is a lot less of a lottery and depends more on the strength you have on the day. For the road race, we’ll just have to see how things evolve on the road.” Today Lizzie Armitstead also competes for gold in the road race after a week of scandal surrounding her failure to give three drug tests. Before the race, the reigning world champion and 2012 silver medallist admitted people will “forever” doubt if she is a clean athlete after missing three drug tests. “In this situation I’m never going to win. If I win, people will say it’s because of something else,” she said. In other results on the first major day of competition: America’s Ginny Thrasher won the first medal of the Games in the 10m air rifle. Britain’s rowers made a good start in their heats, however Serbia’s men took an unexpected dip when they capsized. GB’s rugby sevens women made their Olympic debut with a 29-3 win over Brazil, but the hockey men’s team lost 4-1 to Belgium. Britain’s Max Litchfield qualified for the 400m individual medley final.