Briton presented with trophy in Paris ahead of Tour de France presentation
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Chris Froome with his Velo d'Or trophy(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome hoists a trophy signifying his Tour de France - Vuelta A Espana double(Image credit: Michael Aisner)
Team Sky and Chris Froome on the 2017 Vuelta podium(Image credit: Michael Aisner)
Chris Froome meets the press after the stage(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome congratulates Alberto Contador on his stage win(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome was presented with the Velo d'Or award(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) has been elected as Vélo d’Or for 2017 following a vote by selected international cycling journalists organised by the French publication Vélo Magazine. Froome was awarded the trophy at the Palais des Congrès in Paris on Tuesday morning ahead of the presentation of the route of the 2018 Tour de France.
It is Froome’s third time to win the Vélo d’Or win after 2013 and 2015. Froome placed second in last year’s vote behind Peter Sagan, but his completion of the Tour de France-Vuelta a España double was enough to earn him the trophy this time around.
“It’s a great honour to have this trophy and I want to thank everybody who voted for me,” Froome said. “It was a fantastic year, I will remember it all my life. It was a special season, and I have to thank a lot of people.”
Froome became only the third rider to win the Tour-Vuelta double and the first since Bernard Hinault in 1983. Hinault was on hand to present Froome with his trophy on Tuesday morning, labelling him as “a rider who will mark his generation".
After claiming his fourth Tour victory in July, Froome suggested that winning a record-equalling fifth title would be his priority in 2018, although Giro d’Italia director Mauro Vegni has expressed a desire to see Froome tackle the corsa rosa next year.
“For next year, we’ll see what happens. We’ll have to see what the route is like,” Froome said on Tuesday morning. “Every year, the course changes, and the riders have to change their tactics and preparation. Every year is different.”
The full results of the voting for the 2017 Vélo d’Or will be published in this month’s Vélo Magazine.
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