Chris Froome has made the case for banning time trial bikes in professional racing, suggesting using road bikes would be safer and fairer.
The four-time Tour de France winner acknowledged that even despite his time trial pedigree, and the fact most of his major wins have involved excellence in the discipline, he still believes the bikes are not safe for use on open roads.
Froome’s comments come two weeks after his former teammate Egan Bernal suffered a devastating crash while training on his Pinarello time trial bike in Colombia, while Froome himself also suffered career-threatening injuries in a fall while training on his time trial bike at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné.
The 36-year-old echoed Tom Pidcock’s comments about time trial bikes being too dangerous for training on public roads, but went one step further and suggested using road bikes for time trial events too.
“Is it really necessary for us to have time trial bikes in road cycling?” Froome asked in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel. “Being out on my time trial bike this morning, and in light of recent events, time trial bikes are not really meant to be ridden on the roads the way that we need to ride them in order to be ready.
“To be able to get ready for an hour-long time trial you have to get out there on your time trial bike and simulate that. How many roads around you do you know that you can ride for an hour in almost closed road conditions where there is no traffic, no stop signs, no traffic lights? Those conditions do not exist in the real world.
“When you are on the skis (handlebar extensions) you have no brakes. You need to sit up, it is not really that safe. It is one thing when you are racing with closed roads, and even then we see some pretty horrendous accidents, but it is completely another thing when you are out on open roads with traffic and people crossing the roads.
“Given the dangers involved with training and racing on time trial bikes, and given the discrepancy in equipment in terms of time trialling, would it not be a lot more uniform to have time trials done on road bikes?
“Without a doubt I think it would make it more of a level playing field, and it would make it a lot more about the skill of the individual riders, as opposed to so much about aerodynamics, time in the wind tunnel, and basically the funding that goes into a project.
“I find it quite ironic that the UCI has introduced things to try and make the sport safer, by limiting the position you can use while on the bike but, in my opinion, something like this which would be easy to introduce would have a far greater impact on the safety of professional cyclists.”
Froome was quick to point out a time trial ban would most likely impact his own fortunes negatively but stressed the bigger picture of rider safety is more important.
“Most of my big victories…there have been time trials in there,” he admitted. “I love time trialling, it is an art, a skill, it is really nuanced. It is something you really need to know a lot about to get it right as a professional cyclist. That is one of the magical things about Grand Tour racing and the balance between climbers versus guys that can time trial.
“I realise most of my accolades have come from events with time trials in them, but at what point do we start thinking logically about our sport and introduce measures to make it safer?
“It would probably leave me at a disadvantage if it was implemented but it definitely got me thinking about the bigger picture and safety of athletes as a whole.”
In the video, Froome also addressed the perennial question of do cobbles and gravel stages have a place in Grand Tours?
In 2014, the then Team Sky rider crashed out of defending his yellow jersey on the Paris-Roubaix stage during the fight for position before the race reached the cobbles.
“It is a tricky one,” he continued. “It does give excitement to the race, but it is just such a big risk as well. When you think what it takes to be ready to go into a race for general classification. It is months of dedication, not just from the team leader, but the team around him, the whole support crew, everything.
“Which can literally all be for nothing if you get into a gravel or cobbled section. I see the excitement side, but it really is rolling the dice in terms of risk versus reward for the GC guys. When it affects a whole stage race or Grand Tour I think it is a big shame.”
Finally, addressing his own training and ambitions for 2022, the seven-time Grand Tour winner said doubts remain about his race programme, although the Tour de France remains top priority.
“My race programme is still to be decided, I will most probably start racing at some point in March but we will decide as we get closer to the time and see how the numbers and condition are as I get through the next training camp.
“Still the big goal will be to be in peak condition for the Tour de France but we are keeping a very flexible approach to the season and build-up to that point.”
40 thoughts on “Chris Froome calls for time trial bike ban in professional cycling”
Ready with the popcorn.
Ready with the popcorn.
chrisonatrike wrote:
Beat me to it….
I’m done with time-trialling
I’m done with time-trialling as of last year but I managed 25 years (can hardly believe that, 25 years) of TTing in the aerobar era and managed to crash my TT bike precisely zero times. But I can see where Froome is coming from with his remarks. There’s a low-quality video in which Bernal can be seen in the distance having his scary incident and it looks like classic head-down riding. If that had been in a CTT event he’d have picked up a six-month ban from competition, lol. I do hope he makes a full recovery.
I think it is partly a
I think it is partly a question of ability, experience and awareness. I’ve seen too many TT riders training solo on poor weather days struggling to control their bike – which might(???) be acceptable on a competitive marshalled event, but on a weekday mixed in with motorists of whatever mindset they happen to be in on the day, is hardly wise. We have enough problems with cyclists who lack good judgement without equipment that might seem to reward foolhardiness.
I’ve questioned what the competitive benefit is in road cycling, and for TT riders, it is a significant cost to run a TT bike if you want to compete. Ban TT bars, solid wheels, perhaps a couple of other safety issues, like TT helmets encouraging a less observant posture, you can still have excellent competition and you broaden the appeal.
It probably comes down to
It probably comes down to that – maximising safety in training. No doubt you want to train and pretty hard, if you’re into TT in the first place.
As I’ve said before if it was just speed (in company) you were after there may be safer and indeed more comfortable options (see the BHPC for races):
Does crashing into the back
Does crashing into the back of a bus make a TT bike unsafe? In Bernal’s case here, obvs!
There’s an irony in these
There’s an irony in these remarks coming from Froome, known for his “staring at the stem” position which has even been called, erm, “frooming”. But for the same reason, we can know he is talking from experience.
Time trial bikes don’t really
Time trial bikes don’t really work on open UK roads where there is less space and no respect by those not engaging in the training. I agree with the logic shared in the article, but…. it’s also fun to have lots of gadgets and things up until the point you reach the enlightenment that they are not necessarily safe
Ultimately…the people who
Ultimately…the people who win now will still win on a road bike surely? Is Ganna or Rohan Dennis weak on a road bike then? Of course not.
It’ll change the lower positions of course as those who go all in on the aero thing lose their advantage, but honestly, I don’t see a problem with resetting back a few decades. It’s meant to be the strongest rider wins not the one with the fanciest bike that spent ££££ in a wind tunnel.
Might stop the ridiculous arms race cost in amateur TT’ing too.
I’I was wondering this. Do
I was wondering this. Do we actually need to see seconds shaved off the time that would have been achieved on a standard bike on an arbitrary course? Or is the key to success now who can contort themselves into the most ridiculous position? As a spectator, I really don’t feel any desire to see a special bike being used for this purpose.
And yes, the amateur thing is silly. To think that a win at your local TT can be edged by the guy with the biggest bank account rather than the best legs.
Yes, it was always a bit
Yes, it was always a bit bonkers not to level that playing field. But tbf my local TTs sometimes had one class for “standard” and one for “TT” bikes which seemed a better split. I felt less bad being caught by a minute man in teardrop helmet, disk wheel etc like that. I wouldn’t ban TTs though, they’re part of the culture, but I don’t feel any great pull to do any more.
Bikes and positiones are
Bikes and positiones are becoming extreme because the pressure is on to win. Only the UCI can change this. Won’t change anything really the best riders will still win ITT’s
There seems to be a rebellion among many top riders about TT bikes (i can understand it after Bernals issues) but other top riders baulking at gravel/Pave/loose surfaces. For loose surfaces/Pave I’ve always been of the mind that if your country has these roads then they should feature at times.
I wonder if there’s a similar
I wonder if there’s a similar debate happening among triathletes.
I’ve got clip-on bars on my distance bike. I don’t use them in urban areas or anyplace where there will be a lot of traffic interactions. A little common sense goes a long way.
Isn’t it funny! When I first
Isn’t it funny! When I first came to Road.cc over a year ago and stated – with reason and facts – that TT bikes are dangerous and unfit to be ridden on the roads, you all laughed at me, telling me that I didn’t know what I was talking about and that professional cyclists all agree that TT bikes are safe and secure.
Well I have to say, you’re not laughing now are you?!
Perhaps some people here are still in denial, or perhaps the scales are finally starting to fall from their eyes, but either way – one by one – all the things I’ve stated and predicted are coming true.
Next up, I hope that a law can be formed around a maximum number of riders in group rides, and for mandatory tabards for cycling clubs so that the most irresponsible cyclists on Britain’s roads can be held to account for their antisocial actions. This sensible measure will improve road safety and help rehabilitate cycling’s image in the eyes of the general population.
Garage at Large wrote:
chrisonatrike wrote:
Clearly heaven has had an upgrade if road.cc is available there.
TheBillder wrote:
Have you not heard of cloud computing?
hawkinspeter wrote:
Have you not heard of cloud computing?— TheBillder
I’m so behind, I’ve only just realised that Rackspace isn’t third party torture equipment hosting.
He has already done a sketch
He has already done a sketch from beyond the grave:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quxOMX1jl1w
Do you own a bike or just
Do you own a bike or just post useless comments on a bike site.
Don’t sweat it. Statistically
Don’t sweat it. Statistically, this makes him 730 times more useless than a stopped clock.
I’m bout to go out on the TT
I’m bout to go out on the TT bike without a helmet or hi-vis tabard, riding in a pack of 20.
Garage bingo
Jimwill wrote:
That’s enough for a line, for a full house you must be middle-aged, carrying a few excess pounds, be an immigrant and live in crime-ridden London.
Don’t remember mentioning
Don’t remember mentioning immigrants, do remember mentioning being white, middle class and male. Hence why cycling needs to improve its diversity.
Must try harder.
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Enjoy.
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And when you get back, maybe engage substantively with the point raised, eh?
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Or is that too much of a challenge for you?
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Thanks, I did
Thanks, I did
And I would but your hero doesn’t raise any point worth any substantial engagement, probably something to do with him being a dickhead
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Perhaps try trollsplaining
Perhaps try trollsplaining this to your mates on your solo rides instead.
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Perhaps try challenging the points raised.
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Rather than going straight to ad homs..
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If you can only resort to personal insults, then it’s clear that you have no actual – you know – valid points.
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Flintshire Boy wrote:
Something you have proved time without number.
If Garage hadn’t made a
If Garage hadn’t made a frequent habit, over many months, of creating tedious arguments for the sole purpose of winding others up, I would happily discuss the various points. As it is, I have no interest in feeding the trolling, only flagging it. (I do agree with elements of his arguments against TT bikes, but no point feeding the secondary gain.)
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Thanks, Garage, for echoing Nigel when he addressed the EU Politburo after our successful EU referendum.
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Nope – they are deffo. not laughing now.
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How ironic that ever since
How ironic that ever since triathlon was invented, cyclists have mocked triathletes for poor bike handling skills.
jn46 wrote:
The attitude of many triathletes to their bikes and riding the bike leg, even at a high level, has been mocked over the years for very good reasons.
I think it’s comical that most of the people criticising Froome have probably never ridden a full-blown TT bike competitively or won a time trial.
Take away TT and or gravel
Take away TT and or gravel what’s next downhill, BMX cross for kids? ? As an athlete if you can’t adapt, coach instead don’t turn what’s left of cycling into a two wheeled donkey bore like the current grave that’s formula 1 racing. It’s already an elitist and discriminatory sport as many already know…. Food for thought
Born_peddling wrote:
Nobody is suggesting taking away time trials though, just that they should be done on normal road bikes as they were up to the 1980s.
Surely doing TT on road bikes
Surely doing TT on road bikes makes the sport less elitist as lower down the ranks it is one less bike to buy for young/ up coming cyclists.
I agree with Froome, I have
I agree with Froome, I have said for a long time that dedicated TT bikes should be banned from (at least) the grand tours, i am not 100% sure why I feel that way, I think it is mainly because it is taking the sport in a direction where technical input becomes too important (think Formula 1 borefest). I have also argued for a lont time that there is no place for cobbles or gravel sections in grand tours, there are enough one day events for the riders who specialise in that type of event, the cobbles and gravel add too much of an element of a lottery into a long stage race. Finally, i am not keen on this competition the organisers seem to be caught up in trying to get the steepest hill possible in to a grand tour, all that happens is that everyone starts using mountain bike gears for a section of road which is so steep that it doesnt affect the overall standing whatsovere. Back in the 1970’s grand tours didnt have these silly gradients and TT bikes in them but the racing was still exciting, maybe I am old and grumpy but maybe it is time to bring racing back down a step or two on the technology front. And dont get me started on race radios…
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Chris Froome.
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What the hell would he know?
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Oh, hang on ……
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He’s probably right really…
He’s probably right really… On the TT thing. If you can’t realistically train safely on a TT bike (on open roads), then are they going to be safe for racing?
And this is becoming a bigger thing now as understandings around aerodynamics grow and optimum positions become more extreme (in respect to compromising control for optimised aero performance). This move to extreme positions means less control, but also increases the need to train and adapt to the positions… so you have to spend more time in an arguably unsafe position.
And for what? Ultimately TT’s could absolutely be ridden on standard road bikes… a few of the faces might change, but I’m guessing not many.