"I've never managed that" - Chris Froome on the biggest difference between him and Tadej Pogacar
CyclingFriday, 24 July 2026 at 13:33
Chris Froome won four editions of the Tour de France and was the protagonist of several others. His and Team Sky's dominance over the Grand Boucle in the 2010's made him quite unpopular, something he now understands. The Briton has also commented on Tadej Pogacar and Paul Seixas, two of the headliners of this year's edition.
In 2012 Froome was second behind Bradley Wiggins in a Tour that changed the race's course of history. The 'Sky era' began, marked by the British team's lengthy pulls with its strong mountain train throughout the queen stages. Over the years, the French crowd certainly did not make it easy to Froome - who was, himself, a resident in France.
“At the time, I felt a lot of hostility, but you learn to manage it," Froome said in words to Wielerflits. "In fact, I'd say I finally understood them. The French haven't won the Tour since Bernard Hinault, and they dream of a French winner".
With the likes of Thibaut Pinot but mainly Romain Bardet contesting for the Tour following the emergence of the 'Sky train', the contrast between calculated pacing strategies and aggressive type of racing created a very clear split between the two ways of racing. Froome was not on the one that the crowds wanted to see, and he never raced with home support.
"When I won the Tour in 2016 and 2017, Romain Bardet finished second and third. The crowd wanted him to win. It's only human, and the fact that I wasn't the most popular didn't bother me," he adds.
"Then, after the crash in 2019, I felt a tremendous amount of affection from them. They probably just wanted a hero".
Chris Froome is a multi-time Tour de France winner
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Froome on Tadej Pogacar and Paul Seixas
Now Froome, having retired from the sport, is present at the Tour once again representing Skoda. He has spoken openly to the media throughout the past few weeks in France and has been asked about some of the new faces in the sport, whom he didn't face during his career directly.
Paul Seixas notably was one of them, a rider who could've given Froome a lot of problems if he had emerged a decade before, in the height of Froome's career. “I was lucky not to have to fight with him for the Yellow Jersey. If he had been born a few years earlier, I probably wouldn't have won four Tours," he claims.
But the Frenchman is unlikely to bring an end to France's decades-long dry streak, as Tadej Pogacar goes into the final two mountain stages of the race holding the maillot jaune. Froome and Pogacar at their prime were two completely different riders; product of a completely different era - currently, most GC riders are simultaneously amongst the very best classics riders and time trialists in the world.
“What impresses me is not so much his Tour victories, but his way of racing the Classics," Froome said of Pogacar. "I've never managed that. Congratulations to him. It's a privilege to be able to witness his feats.”
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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