Chris Froome: "Three years later, I am finally starting to turn the corner and starting to see some real progress"

A few weeks ago, Chris Froome’s selection for Tour de France was criticized, but Froome has shown everyone he is more than qualified to race in the tour. He finished third in stage 12 while competing against the likes of Pogcar and Vingegaard.

The four-time Tour de France champion was involved in a career-threatening high-speed crash in 2019. Since then, he has struggled to return to his old self. "These past five, six months, were probably the only five-six months in the last three years that I've been able to work uninterrupted with no pain, no injuries, nothing," Froome told Reuters.

He admits there were certain moments when he doubted himself and questioned his capabilities. “I was losing faith in my abilities for sure. I think naturally, as athletes, we doubt ourselves a lot. But when you work extremely hard, and you're not seeing the gains that you hope to get, there are definitely moments where I was doubting myself there,” said Froome.

He thanked his wife for believing in him and giving him the motivation to keep trying. "I really need to say a massive thank you to the people around me and, most notably, my wife. She believed in me. She's given me the motivation to continue and keep fighting, and only now, three years later, I am finally starting to turn the corner and starting to see some real progress,” Froome said.

Now that he has secured a podium position, he will keep trying to reach his former self. "Nothing holding me back. So I'm still seeing improvements, seeing progressions, and as long as I'm seeing these improvements, I'm going to keep working. I don't know how far I'm going to get and if I'm going to get to my old level, but one thing is for sure I'm going to work as hard as I can,” concluded Froome. He holds 25th position in GC, 1 hour and 8 minutes behind overall leader Jonas Vingegaard.