Froome says "Age is a State of Mind" as he targets fifth Tour de France title

Four times Tour de France winner Chris Froome confirmed he was "not finished yet" as his new cycling team Israel Start Up Nation held a press conference ahead of the 2021 season in which the Briton is targeting a fifth Tour de France title

Froome said he still feels 'relatively young' in cycling years, the 35-year-old as he recovers from series crash suffered at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphine.

The seven-time Grand Tour winner has been doing intense training in California during the off-season. He agreed with his team that it made more sense for him to continue individual training so he can be in the best shape possible for the upcoming season. He missed joining his new Israel Start-Up Nation team-mates during their first training camp in Girona, Spain.

Age is a state of mind,” Froome said. “I feel relatively young in cycling years. I got into the sport a little bit later. The way nutrition has evolved and the sport has evolved, it’s certainly possible for athletes to go later and later.

“You look at a rider like (Alejandro) Valverde who is 40 and still racing Grand Tours and is still up there competing with the best in the world. It’s certainly possible and I’d like to prove that as well.”

Froome says "Age is a State of Mind" as he targets fifth Tour de France title

The seven-time Grand Tour winner admitted he was not as far along in his recovery as he had hoped, having missed out on selection for the Tour de France before finishing his time with the Ineos Grenadiers by riding the season-ending Vuelta a Espana in a support role.

Froome has spent the winter continuing his rehabilitation at the Red Bull High Performance Center in Santa Monica, missing the pre-season training camp of his new team which is taking place this week near Girona.

There has been time for riding the Californian roads – Froome posted details of a 100km ride he completed around Los Angeles this weekend – but his time is mostly spent on more gruelling gym sessions building up the muscle strength in his legs and quads.

“I feel as if I’m making a lot of headway,” he said. “The centre has been fantastic in supporting me.

“I’ve been doing three or four sessions a week, quite heavy and quite lengthy so I’m much closer to where I need to be to start the season than where I was last year.”

Given the catalogue of broken bones Froome suffered in June 2019 – a broken right femur, broken hip, fractured elbow, and fractured ribs – many wondered if it was the end of his career.

He still has plenty to prove in terms of getting back to the top of the sport, but no shortage of determination.

“Retirement would have been the easier option but it’s not the way I wanted to finish my cycling career,” he said. “One big motivation was knowing I was sitting on four Tour de France titles and I didn’t feel as if I’m done yet.

“I would like to get to number five and keep targeting Grand Tours until I’m ready to retire on my own terms.”

 

 
Tag: tourdefrance
 
Jan 10 2024 - NEWS: Primož Roglic to lead BORA - hansgrohe at the Tour de France
Jan 10 2024 - NEWS: Remco Evenepoel sets his sights on the 2024 Tour de France
Dec 01 2023 - NEWS: Northern France to host first four stages of the 2025 Tour de France
Nov 14 2023 - NEWS: 2025 Tour de France to start in Lille
Oct 26 2023 - NEWS: 2024 Etape du Tour boasts 4,600m of climbing and mountain top finish
Oct 26 2023 - NEWS: 2024 Tour de France Femmes finishes atop Alpe d’Huez in thrilling finale
Oct 25 2023 - NEWS: 8 Must watch Stages of the 2024 Tour de France
Oct 23 2023 - NEWS: 2024 Tour de France Route: Here's what we know ahead of the Route Presentation
Sep 13 2023 - NEWS: 2024 Tour de France starts in Italy and ends in Nice
Sep 01 2023 - NEWS: How much Do Tour de France riders earn during the race?
Jul 28 2023 - NEWS: Vingegaard visits Van Aert after Tour de France victory
Jul 23 2023 - NEWS: Vingegaard celebrates second Tour de France title in Paris
Jul 22 2023 - NEWS: Tadej Pogacar comes away with Tour de France win after cracking on the Queen Stage
Jul 21 2023 - NEWS: Mohoric slays Asgreen in Tour de France Stage 19 Photo Finish
Jul 20 2023 - NEWS: Kasper Asgreen keeps the Peloton at Bay to win Stage 18 from the Breakaway
Jun 29 2024 - EVENT: 2024 Tour De France
 
Tag: froome
 
Oct 23 2021 - NEWS: Chris Froome: New Generation of Riders have a Structure that didn't Exist when I Started
May 07 2021 - NEWS: VIDEO: Chris Froome laughs at his critics calling for his retirement
Jan 19 2021 - NEWS: Froome says Age is a state of mind as he targets fifth Tour de France title
Jul 09 2020 - NEWS: Chris Froome to leave Team Ineos for Israel Start-Up Nation
Apr 02 2020 - NEWS: Chris Froome's attack on the Finestre in the Giro Most Heroic
Jan 15 2020 - NEWS: Chris Froome posts Gran Canaria monster training rides on Strava
Jan 06 2020 - NEWS: Chris Froome denies Fitness concerns as he abandons Team Ineos Training Camp
Dec 07 2019 - NEWS: Chris Froome Back on His Bike and Focusing on 2020 Tour de France
Nov 09 2019 - NEWS: Chris Froome upbeat after Surgery to remove metal plates from his leg
Aug 04 2019 - NEWS: Chris Froome to focus on Fifth Tour de France title next year
Feb 08 2019 - NEWS: Watch: Colombian in Crocs keeps up with Chris Froome on a climb
Jan 17 2019 - NEWS: Superfreak: Chris Froome shares monster training ride on Strava!
Jul 09 2018 - NEWS: Dave Brailsford launches scathing attack on UCI president David Lappartient
Jul 08 2018 - NEWS: VIDEO: Froome crashes over barriers on Stage 1 of the Tour
Jul 02 2018 - NEWS: Froome cleared to ride the Tour de France as UCI close anti-doping case