Christopher Froome

Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome is a British cyclist who was born in Kenya on May 20, 1985. He won the Tour de France each time (2013, 2015-1017) with the Team Sky programme, plus two GC titles at the Vuelta a España and one at the Giro d’Italia. He also has two bronze medals from Olympic Games in the individual time trial.

The tall, lanky rider started his career as a pro with Team Barloworld in 2007, where he competed in his first Tour de France with the Pro Continental team. In 2010, he  joined Team Sky. The diagnosis and treatment for the parasitic disease Bilharzia at the end of that year, was credited with his transformation into a rider capable of Grand Tour podiums.

After a breakthrough performance in 2011 that saw him win a stage and the overall at the Vuelta a España, Froome was an increasingly important figure at Team Sky.  He was a key part of Wiggins’ Tour de France victory, despite causing controversy on stage 11 to La Toussuire when he attacked his leader before being ordered to drop back.

In 2012 he won an Olympic medal, taking bronze in the time trial behind Wiggins and Tony Martin. At the Vuelta he slugged it out for the leader’s jersey with the likes of Alberto Contador and Joaquim Rodriguez before fading with fatigue in the second half of the race and riding to second overall.

In 2013 Froome went on to win his first of four Tour de France GC titles, a strong performance with six stage podiums, three of them wins including Mont Ventoux. It was a year when Froome dominated the stage race calendar, winning the Tour of Oman, the Critérium International, the Tour of Romandie and the Critérium du Dauphiné, while he was second behind Vincenzo Nibali at Tirreno-Adriatico. 

2014 proved to be a disappointing year for Froome as he struggled with illness and his Tour of Romandie win was overshadowed by a controversial and hastily-granted Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for a corticosteroid. He had once again built his season around the Tour de France as defending champion, he was forced to abandon the race on stage 5 with fractures to his hand and wrist.

Froome bounced back to stamp his authority on the Tour by winning the next three consecutive seasons -  2015, 2016, and 2017 Tours. In 2017, he added a second title at the Vuelta a España as well.

However, during his Vuelta victory in 2017, he returned an anti-doping sample that had salbutamol, an asthma drug, with twice the legal limit. The case caused enormous debate but did not keep Froome from competition. He raced the 2018 Giro d'Italia to victory amid the controversy before being absolved by the UCI just ahead of the Tour de France, where he finished in third place overall behind teammate Geraint Thomas and Tom Dumoulin.

Froome had a slow build-up to the 2019 season and, while at the Critérium du Dauphiné, he suffered a devastating crash during the reconnaissance of the time trial and underwent a lengthy rehabilitation for numerous injuries including a broken femur. He did not compete for the rest of the season, then in 2020, having not made Ineos Grenadiers team for the Tour de France, announced he had signed for Israel Start-Up Nation, which remained on the WorldTour through 2022.

Between 2021 and 2023 Froome competed in three more Grand Tours, but had lacklustre results. In 2022 he showed a glimmer of his past climbing abilities by finishing third on the Alpe d'Huez stage at the Tour de France.

His contract with the Israeli squad, now Israel-Premier Tech, was extended to allow him to race until he is 40 years old in 2025, but the agreement also means Froome will retire after his time at the ProTeam.

Key Results

2022

🥉 One stage at Tour de France

2018

🥇 Two stages, mountains classification and GC at Giro d’Italia

🥈 Two stages Tour de France

🥉 GC at Tour de France

2017

🥇 GC at Tour de France

🥇 Two stages, sprint classification and GC at Vuelta a España

🥉 ITT and road race at World Championships

2016

🥇 Two stages and GC at Tour de France

🥇 Three stages at Vuelta a España

🥇 Two stages and GC at Criterium du Dauphiné

🥇 One stage, mountains classification and GC at Herald Sun Tour

🥈 General Classification at Vuelta a España

🥉 ITT, Olympic Games

2015

🥇 One stage and GC at Tour de France

🥇 Two stages and GC at Criterium du Dauphiné

🥇 One stage, points classification and GC at Ruta del Sol

🥉 One stage at Vuelta a España

🥉 GC at Tour de Romandie

2014

🥇 One stage and GC at Tour of Oman

🥇 One stage and GC at Tour de Romandie

🥇 Two stages, points classification at Critérium du Dauphiné

🥈 General Classification, Vuelta a España

2013

🥇 Three stages and GC at Tour de France

🥇 One stage and GC at Critérium du Dauphiné

🥇 One stage, points classification and GC at Tour of Oman

🥇 One stage and GC at Critérium International

🥇 GC at Tour de Romandie

🥈 One stage and GC at Tirreno-Adriatico

2012

🥈 GC at Tour de France

🥉 ITT, Olympic Games

Fourth GC at Vuelta a España

2011

🥇 One stage and GC at Vuelta a España

🥉 GC at Tour of Beijing