“He can talk about his bike position until the cows come home”: Chris Froome’s bike set-up “oversight” claims slammed as “illogical” by team boss

Chris Froome’s recent, rather controversial claims that his bike set-up at Israel-Premier Tech was “centimetres” apart from his Team Sky-issue Pinarello, contributing to his poor form and struggles with back pain over the last few seasons, have been slated by team co-owner Sylvan Adams, who branded the four-time Tour de France winner’s complaints “illogical” and said he “can talk about his bike position until the cows come home – that’s still not going to earn him a position on a Grand Tour team”.

Earlier this month, Froome revealed that, during a period of reflection after being omitted from Israel-Premier Tech’s Tour line-up, he noticed “very big discrepancies” between his positioning on his Team Sky-era Pinarello and his current Factor set-up, which he believes were the source of the lower back pain he’d experience at the tail end of longer races.

“At first I thought it was age starting to catch up with me but then I started questioning my position actually on the bike and then started comparing it,” the 38-year-old said, before going on to describe what he termed an “oversight” concerning the way his bike was set up since joining Israel-Premier Tech from Ineos in 2021.

> Not so marginal losses: Chris Froome reveals recent bike set-up was “centimetres” apart from Team Sky days due to “oversight”

“I had one of my old bikes from the Team Sky/Ineos days so I was able to compare the position on the two different bikes. I found that my reach, so from saddle to the handlebars, was over three centimetres of difference between the two bikes, longer on the current bike,” the two-time Vuelta winner said.

“I took my old bike and went to a specialist and found very big discrepancies between my positions. But now we’ve made some big changes, more than centimetres in terms of saddle height, in terms of the reach, it’s really a lot, we’re not talking millimetres.

“It's a positive thing for me. I’ve found it’s given me a lot of added motivation now because it might be part of the puzzle, missing pieces, as to why I haven’t quite found the level that I’ve wanted to get to.”

However, Froome’s comments – which appeared to link the “huge discrepancies” in his current bike set-up compared to his grand tour-laden days at Team Sky with his recent poor form – were the subject of scorn from many cycling fans, pundits, and former pros.

> Fans and former pros, including Michael Rasmussen, ridicule Chris Froome’s claim that bike set-up was “centimetres” off from Team Sky days

Describing Froome’s claims that he failed to notice the changes in his position as a “load of BS”, former Tour de France contender-turned-journalist Michael Rasmussen said: “Any pro cyclist who has done thousands of hours on a bike will instantly feel a change in the set-up.

“Froome could ride his Pinarello from 2015 and he still wouldn’t crack top 20 in Tour du Rwanda with his current level.”

And this week, speaking to the Radio Cycling podcast, Froome’s own boss, Israel-Premier Tech owner Sylvan Adams, joined in the chorus of scepticism, and questioned the credibility of his marquee rider’s claims.

Adams, who asserted earlier this year that Froome “was absolutely not” representing “value for money” after the British rider failed to make the team’s Tour de France line-up, told the podcast: “Does it sound logical that somebody who was winning seven grand tours, including four Tours de France, is claiming that his saddle position is off by a centimetre, or whatever he’s saying?

“Does that sound credible for a guy who’s getting dropped, not even on the last climbs of races, but on the early climbs of races? That’s for the cycling public to judge.”

(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

He continued: “We’ve been very generous with Chris in terms of trying to help him, trying to give him the best possible equipment, the best possible conditions. But if he wants to race in a grand tour next season, he has to meet certain criteria and be one of the best eight members of our team.

“Right now, I haven’t seen any results from Chris that indicate that he’s at that level, but he’s very determined. If he’s able to get into races and prove himself to be a relevant force in a race, and a useful member of a grand tour team, if he’s able to demonstrate that he has that level, he’ll have every opportunity.

“If he doesn’t meet that level, well he can talk about his bike position until the cows come home – that’s still not going to earn him a position on a grand tour team, his legs will have to do that.”

> Chris Froome’s bike set-up mystery explained on the road.cc Podcast

Adams’ comments this week aren’t the first time that the Israel-Premier Tech chief has refused to mince his words in public when it comes to Froome’s arguably subpar performances since joining his team in 2021.

The 38-year-old’s claim during the summer that he had been “let down” by the team over his non-selection for the Tour, and that his only chance to prove himself had been hampered once again by “frustrating” mechanical issues, prompted Adams to hit out at the grand tour specialist, saying he was not offering “value for money” and was currently riding like a “pedestrian domestique”.

“This is not a PR exercise,” Adams said. “Chris isn’t a symbol, he isn’t a PR tool, he’s supposed to be our leader at the Tour de France and he’s not even here, so no, I couldn’t say he’s value for money, no.”

(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

However, Froome has recently claimed that there are “no hard feelings” between him and his team manager.

“I mean his frustrations are understandable but, yeah, that’s how it is,” he said. “I’m contracted for another two years. I signed a five-year contract when I joined. I still feel like there’s more in the legs and I want to go out having given it my all. I’m not going to give up on it. I’ve had much worse said about me.

“If I can get back to the Tour de France and be there when the race gets selective, when there are fewer guys left on the climbs, whether it’s fighting for a stage win again or even trying to ride whatever position on GC again – to me, just to be back in the race, when the race gets selective, that for me would be the dream.”