Chris Froome (Team Sky)(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome will lead Sky's attack on the Grand Tours(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Chris Froome checks on Sky teammate and Tour leader Bradley Wiggins as the pair approach the finish of the 17th stage(Image credit: AFP)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) will target the Tour de France in 2013(Image credit: View over Abinger Hammer cricket ground as the peloton ride by fans in the Surrey countryside sitting in their local watering hole)
Chris Froome has told Cyclingnews that he is ready to shoulder the pressure and responsibility of leading Team Sky at the Tour de France, believing he has the ability to take on Alberto Contador and target overall success thanks to this year's mountainous route.
In a video interview recorded at Team Sky's media day in Mallorca, Froome also claimed that his second place in the 2012 Tour de France was a clear statement that cycling has changed. The Kenyan-born Briton sees Lance Armstrong's demise as an opportunity for the sport to find new role models people can admire.
"It's been sensationalized a lot. We're not best friends but we've got a working relationship and I think we'll both do exactly what's asked of each for the team, so we can achieve the team's goals," Froome told Cyclingnews.
"I think every team needs to go in (to the Tour) with contingency plans like I was last year's Tour. That guy will be the last help in the mountains if you like and the way its shaking out at the moment, Bradley would play that role for me this year."
In a change of programme, Froome will begin his 2013 season alongside Wiggins at the Tour of Oman on February 12. After that his programme will include Tirreno-Adriatico but then focus on being at his best for the Tour de France.
"It sounds like a lot of the big hitters are going out there (to Oman) but it's still very early days and hard to take real truths out of the results. It'd always be good to get one up on Contador," he said, seemingly relishing a battle with the Spaniard come July.
"I think he's definitely my biggest rival at the moment, he knows what he's doing in the big tours. I'd like to think my time trial is better than his and then stick with him in the mountains. However the Tour is so mountainous this year, if anyone has a bad day, that could potentially be minutes lost there. To me it looks like the race is going to be won or lost in the mountains at this year's Tour de France."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Froome did not shy away from questions about doping or Lance Armstrong. Like most riders he is looking to the future and believes he can is a role model for the future of the sport.
"It's something that I hope will help the sport move forward and close the door on that era of cycling. The sport has definitely developed. It's no longer the case of guys doing blood bags and transfusions, etc. If they are, it's a very minority, the guys who are losing their contracts or just trying to take chances. They're the guys who are getting caught."
"Cycling definitely has transformed. And for me, coming second in last year's Tour de France, was a clear statement to say: 'Yes, the sport has changed'. I would never have been able to do that if doping was still prevalent in the sport."
"I think it presents us with an opportunity. The sport needs new figures to look up to, clean winners who aren't going to get their titles stripped. Personally it gives me a lot of motivation, it gives me a goal, something to aim for and hopefully inspire people, knowing that the sport has changed."
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
