{"id":205785,"date":"2026-07-08T15:36:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T15:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=205785"},"modified":"2026-07-13T13:23:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:23:43","slug":"chris-froome-looks-back-on-his-tour-de-france-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/07\/08\/chris-froome-looks-back-on-his-tour-de-france-career\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI just couldn\u2019t let the yellow jersey slip away from me\u201d: Chris Froome Looks Back on His Tour de France Career"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chris Froome won the Tour de France four times, the Vuelta Espa\u00f1a twice, and the Giro d\u2019Italia once. Between 2013 and 2018, he and his Team Sky dominated the sport perhaps to an even greater extent than UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG does today. But ask almost any cycling fan, and especially an aficionado of the Tour de France, what they remember most about the recently retired Froome, and they might just smile and utter one word: \u201cVentoux!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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An <\/strong>epic <\/strong>run <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The reference is to the now iconic incident that occurred during stage 12 of the 2016 Tour de France on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, aka the \u201cGiant of Provence\u201d. A crash with a television motorbike due to the crush of the crowd destroyed Froome\u2019s bike about 1 km from the finish. With only a 25-second lead over Adam Yates in the general classification, Froome started running up the mountain in search of a miracle or at least another bike.<\/p>\n

Asked how he views the incident today, Froome told \u0160koda We Love Cycling, in an exclusive interview, that he had \u201cmixed emotions\u201d about it. \u201cI can certainly have a bit more of a laugh about it now,\u201d he said. \u201cBut in the moment, it wasn\u2019t so funny. It was more a sheer moment of chaos. When that happened, and I realised my bike was broken, just a kilometre from the finish line, I knew I wouldn\u2019t be getting a spare bike anytime soon because [the team car] would be behind all the riders we had just gapped. So I thought that I should be as close to the finish line as I can be when the bike arrives. And the only way that’s going to happen is if I run. I just couldn’t let the yellow jersey slip away from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it didn\u2019t. He eventually got a bike and finished the stage, but more than two minutes behind Yates. However, the race jury intervened and, because the crash was due to outside forces, it decided to award Froome the same time as Bauke Mollema, who he had been riding with but who managed to avoid the worst in the incident. That decision reinstated him as the race leader, and he went on to win his third Tour yellow jersey.<\/p>\n

Asked if that was his favourite Tour victory of the four, Froome said, \u201cEvery Tour had these moments that were special and stand out to me, but honestly, I think the first Tour victory back in 2013 was the most amazing experience because everything was new to me, everything was novel. Having made it my goal to win the Tour as a kid watching the race, and then achieving that, it was just such an amazing feeling. So, I don\u2019t think anything really comes close to that first one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Froome<\/a>
The iconic incident occurred during stage 12 of the 2016 Tour de France on the slopes of Mont Ventoux. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The unforgettable first yellow jersey<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Froome went on to say that winning the Tour for the first time is a life-changer. \u201cCertainly, as a professional cyclist, your life is different after winning the Tour de France,\u201d he explained. \u201cYou\u2019re seen in a different light, and I think people treat you differently because of it. There are more commitments,and you fall into this special category of a very short list of people who have ever won the Tour. And in the cycling world, that\u2019s something very special, and it is a real privilege to be part of that list.\u201d<\/p>\n

That first Tour victory was special to Froome for other reasons, again involving Mont Ventoux.<\/a> \u201cIt was Bastille Day 2013, and I was in the yellow jersey,\u201d Froome recalled. \u201cOf course, all the French teams were extra motivated to perform on that stage on July 14, and it was finishing on top of Mont Ventoux. I was able to win that stage [30 seconds ahead of Nairo Quintana]. And to top it off, my wife was waiting for me at the finish. She didn\u2019t normally come to many races at all. So that was really a special moment for me, being able to win in the yellow jersey on top of Mont Ventoux, with my wife there as well to share that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Froome has said in the past that the Tour was the \u201cHoly Grail of cycling\u201d, on which he elaborated, \u201cI don\u2019t want to take anything away from the other two Grand Tours, but the Tour de France really is the biggest one,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s where the teams want the best performance, so, generally, you\u2019ve got the strongest lineup there. And if you ask any person on the street, \u2018Do you know the Tour de France?\u2019, even if they don\u2019t watch it, they\u2019d probably know it. Whereas I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any other race on the calendar that you can say the same for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a professional cyclist, if you could win one race, you would choose the Tour. It\u2019s really such a privilege, such an honour, to be the one guy who, after three weeks of racing, can stand on the podium in Paris with your hands in the air as the overall winner of the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Love the pain<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To win a Tour de France,<\/a> a rider needs to have a combination of physical ability, drive, and mental strength. \u201cBeing able to cope with the pressure is a huge element because once you get into a position ofwearing the yellow jersey, then you start the next stage with a target on your back,\u201d Froome noted. \u201cBasically, you\u2019re the person to beat, you\u2019re the benchmark. So, wearing that jersey is a huge honour, but it’s also a very heavy responsibility, and to keep it for the duration of the race is no easy accomplishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his career, Froome seemed to thrive in the brutality of the Tour, as if the severity of the challenge gave him wings, an impression he confirmed. \u201cI definitely found that during the years that I was most successful, when I felt ready for the Tour de France, I almost wanted it to be harder,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted it to be as brutal as possible because those were the parts of the race [in the mountains] that I could control and I could feel as if I had an advantage on my rivals.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that the flatter stages scared him because \u201ceveryone was present, everyone could be there, and there was more chance of crashing, more chance of something going wrong. Whereas when I was up in the mountains in the really tough terrain, I knew there\u2019s probably only a handful of guys who can realistically keep up and challenge me. So, I did feel more at ease when the race turned harder, if that makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

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