Chris Froome has been talking to followers on Twitter about cycling during lockdown – including the need to maintain distance from others when undertaking outdoor exercise on the bike.
On Saturday, the four-time Tour de France winner retweeted an article regarding a white paper written by academics at universities in Belgium and the Netherlands.
As we pointed out in coverage of the same paper last week, the authors said they had taken the unusual step of publishing their initial findings before applying for funding or having their research peer-reviewed because of the urgency of the situation – something Froome himself highlighted when questioned about the article he had linked.
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In fairness to the team that produced the white paper and observations by some that as a non-peer reviewed paper it did not carry much weight, we should point out that the lead academic on the research, Professor Bert Blocken, is a specialist in aerodynamics, including as applied to elite cycling.
Froome, who lives in Monaco, is currently in lockdown at home, with the tiny principality adopting the same approach as France, which entirely surrounds it.
As a result, he is training exclusively at home, as he pointed out to one person replying to his tweet.
He dropped a hind to another Twitter user that even if rules were relaxed, he might prefer to continue to ride at home for now.
He also showed his appreciation to one follower who works within the NHS.
Meanwhile, Froome says he is almost back to full racing fitness following his recovery from the horrific crash at last year’s Criterium du Dauphiné.
In an interview on the Team Ineos YouTube channel, the four-time yellow jersey winner said: “The recovery is going really well – I’d go as far as saying it’s pretty much complete.
“I am still doing some exercises off the bike to strengthen the right side that was injured, but I’m back in normal training again and that’s going really well.”
Froome, who returned to racing at February’s UAE Tour, is currently training at home in Monaco.
“It’s going well – I’m staying really busy and obviously I’m doing as much training as I can on the turbo trainer,” he said. “We’re getting through it.”
He was speaking after taking part on a virtual race with other members of Team Ineos yesterday on the online cycling platform, Zwift.
Thousands of fans joined all 30 Team Ineos riders in the virtual race, won by Rohan Dennis with Eddie Dunbar second and Michal Kwiatkowski third. Froome finished in sixth place, but his performance was applauded by team principal, Sir Dave Brailsford.
“It’s fantastic. I was absolutely gripped and it was really enjoyable to watch. Fair play to Rohan – you can see why he’s the world time trial champion. You can see Eddie is in pretty good shape, but I think the rider that caught my eye was Chris Froome.
“That’s a hell of a ride from a guy who is coming back and that’s a great indicator that he’s on track and going to be in the mix when we get back out there on the road,” added Brailsford.
agree, felt bad I was willing him out of the top 10 but he fought hard, another QST rider with a big future..
Imagine if Specialized or Trek were still producing the same bike as they did in 1976 or so......
thats not the case, the consultation has been held, closed in January,the results of which should be published imminently, and the new law was due...
Goodbye old friend.
That's exactly why it's taken 20 years - it's a cycling route, not a road or a railway. Road or railway project - pushed through, as people want...
It's almost certainly foreign - A true British horse would have kept calm with a stiff upper lip....
Very true. I'm often overtaken by cars in a 20mph zone as I'm cycling over 20mph myself.
Ooooo now there's a thought ha ha ha 👍
Turns out they did go on to look at the GPS data, and it confirmed the initial estimate of his average speed (no mention of speed at the point of...
Please can you post what the final costs are? I'm wondering if any duty is actually due, irrespective of what simplyduty claims.