Chris Froome considers taking on Vuelta a Espana

Matt McGeehan 07:26 28/07/2015
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  • Taste for success: Chris Froome could yet ride in Spain.

    Tour de France winner Chris Froome could look to double up on Grand Tours this year and race the Vuelta a Espana which starts in August.

    Froome became the first British rider to win two Tour titles on Sunday when he crossed the finishing line in Paris to follow up on his 2013 win.

    — Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) July 26, 2015

    Froome rode last year’s Vuelta after crashing out of the 2014 Tour, and there is a thought that – although he finished second to Alberto Contador in the race – it helped get him in the right condition to prepare for the Tour over the winter.

    “It’s a bit early to say 100 per cent but I think potentially it could be on the cards,” Froome said of a return to Spain.

    “I know it would be a massive challenge to go back to another Grand Tour and to go there with the aim of winning the general classification, but that’s in the back of my mind and maybe could be on the cards.”

    However, Froome did not sound like a man in a rush to commit to another gruelling three-week race as he enjoys his first day of relaxation after months of Tour preparation.

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    “It’s not on the Tour itself, it’s the whole build-up, months and months of doing every little thing right, every little detail,” he said. “It’s going to be great to switch off for a few days.”

    Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford also told his star rider to enjoy himself before making a decision, particularly as Froome and his wife Michelle have a baby on the way.

    “The reality is you never know how the guys are going to come out of three weeks of racing,” he said. “You need to a have a couple of days to calibrate and see where you are.”

    Froome’s Tour de France was all the more stressful for the constant sniping and abuse he received from some who refuse to believe he is riding clean, with Froome and his Sky team-mates facing attacks on and off the bike as they were spat at and, in Froome’s case, doused in urine by some along the roadside.

    That was something he addressed in his victory speech on the Champs-Elysees when he spoke of honouring the yellow jersey and its history – a point he reiterated.

    “I’m in a privileged position to be able to speak out about the current level of the sport and where we’re at in that regard, just to reassure people that this isn’t going to be a rerun of the likes of some of the guys we’ve seen before us,” he said.

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