adminHILTERFINGER. — Chris Froome insists he still has the hunger and desire to keep on dominating the Tour de France for years to come.
Speaking from his hotel in Switzerland on the second and final Tour rest day yesterday, the 31-year-old Briton claimed to be as determined as ever to succeed.
“If anything, I feel this year has demonstrated how much I still have that hunger and that desire to win this race,” he said.
“From the first two weeks I feel I have really taken every opportunity possible. I have attacked on a descent, I have attacked in crosswinds, I time-trialled as hard as I can to be in this position.
“It feels like I’m giving this race my all and it means so much to me.”
Froome’s daring descent on Stage 7 gave him his only stage win of the Tour so far and earned 23 seconds over most of his rivals. Another surprise move on stage 11 saw him take advantage of strong winds to get another 12 seconds, while he took the majority of time out of his rivals on the stage 13 time-trial last Friday.
And whereas during his two previous Tour victories in 2013 and last year, Froome was “hanging on” in the final week as his main rival Nairo Quintana launched a comeback, this time around the Kenyan-born Briton says he’s getting stronger.
“Coming into this last week, myself personally I feel more ready for this third week than in previous editions,” he said.
“Starting this season later helped that, having a quieter run-in to the Tour helped that. My personal ambition is to be at my best in the third week of this race. — AFP.
Online Reporter