13/12/2023

"Who are we to say he should stop?" - Wout Poels shows support for Chris Froome

Much has been made of Chris Froome's performances in recent times, as the 38-year-old struggles to recapture top form since his career-threatening crash. For Froome's former teammate Wout Poels however, as long as he's enjoying it, why should Froome be forced to quit?

“It’s always so easy for people to say that he should retire, that he’s made enough money, things like that, but if it’s your passion and you still enjoy racing and training camps, then who are we to say he should stop?" Poels explains in conversation with GCN. "You can only stop one time."

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Poels worked closely with Froome during their days together at Team Sky, helping the Brit to multiple Grand Tour victories. “Would I do the same, I don’t know but it looks like he’s still enjoying it," he says of his former team leader. "It’s sad of course, that he never came on the level again after his crash. If he likes to do it, then who are we to say he should stop?”

Whilst Poels has been assigned to a domestique role for most of his career, Poels took stage wins at both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana this year. “I always wanted to win a stage [in Grand Tours] but at Team Sky I was always working. I enjoyed that but for your own personal goals, it’s a nice thing to have now. It’s also why four years ago I came to this team, to achieve these things," he assesses. "You get older and older so it’s extra nice to tick it off the list."

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Despite that, Poels harbours no regrets about his time spent working for others. The Dutchman also refuses to rule out a GC challenge in 2024. “Maybe but I also see what you need in order to be a GC rider. Sometimes at Sky people would say I needed to go for GC because I was climbing with the best but I could also take a few days off in that time and recover in races," he explains.

"It’s also pretty demanding, and it’s not a regret I have because I had other things," Poels concludes. "I went there with Froome in his good old days. It was humbling just to help such a big rider. I didn’t really regret it."