La Vuelta a Espana 2020 - Chris Froome: 'Believe me when I say I'm far from done'
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Updated 02/11/2020 at 13:15 GMT
Chris Froome has responded to comments from Eurosport's Bradley Wiggins and Sean Kelly and said he is "far from done" after returning from his injury nightmare. The Ineos star is battling hard at the 2020 Vuelta a Espana and Wiggins and Kelly both said on the latest episode of the Bradley Wiggins Show podcast that he is on the way back to form.
Paul Martens of Germany and Team Jumbo - Visma / Christopher Froome of The United Kingdom and Team INEOS - Grenadiers / during the 75th Tour of Spain 2020
Image credit: Getty Images
Chris Froome has declared that he is "far from done" in a positive response to the latest episode of The Bradley Wiggins Show.
Wiggins - a former team-mate of Froome's - and fellow Eurosport expert Sean Kelly both made it clear on the podcast that they believe the 35-year-old's performances so far at La Vuelta have been very encouraging and demonstrate that he is on the right path to returning to form ahead of next season.
Froome was dropped as early as Stage 1 as his Ineos Grenadiers team left him struggling at the back, having previously omitted him from the Tour de France team. But since then he has battled hard to help leader Richard Carapaz on some gruelling climbs.
The Brit responded on Twitter to the views of Wiggins and Kelly and left his fans in no doubt that he remains totally confident and determined to get back to his best in 2021 - when he will leave Ineos to join Israel Start-up Nation - and to keep battling more immediately at the Vuelta.
"Thanks to Wiggins and Kelly for their belief in me," Froome wrote in a tweet responding to the pair's comments.
I’ve received countless tweets telling me to pack it in already. If I quit every time things got tough during my cycling career I would have never achieved anything. Believe me when I say I’m far from done.
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Froome - 'This is a process I have to go through to get back to the top level'
Wiggins had said on the podcast: "We've seen Chris Froome be really active, hurting himself and helping the team.
I still think he has one big day left in him where he is going to shine. He is getting back to the rider he was with every pedal rev, and he has shown that.
"Every turn he has at the front he is going longer and longer into the race and he is enjoying putting people in the hurt bag again and regaining his confidence.
"You have to imagine for him, there were probably times when he thought, 'will I ever get back to that strength and that rider?'.
"With every rider that gets dropped with him doing that at the front, he has to start believing, 'look, I can win races again'.
Just the fact that Chris is looking like he can be competitive again next year, which everyone wants to see, and challenge for a fifth Tour.
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The day when the Angliru broke Wiggins, and Froome 'lost' the 2011 Vuelta
Kelly added: "In the early days of this Vuelta he looked like he was struggling a lot, and he was losing contact.
"But we have to remember that he was out for a long time and he is slowly getting better because we can see how he is riding now on difficult stages.
"He is looking like a man with confidence now and he is happy with the way he is riding. That is so important for Froome, because he needs this Vuelta to finish off this season."
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