Chris Froome (Sky) on the climb to La Planche des Belles Filles (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Chris Froome (Sky) is Bradley Wiggins' key lieutenant. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Chris Froome (Sky) sets the tempo in the final kilometres of stage seven (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Chris Froome (Sky) awaits the start of the stage at the Tour de France (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Cadel Evans (BMC) cannot follow the acceleration of Chris Froome (Sky) (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Chris Froome celebrates his first Tour de France stage victory (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Chris Froome took the polka dot jersey with his win atop La Planche des Belles Filles (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Chris Froome (Sky) powered to the win on La Planche des Belles Filles (Image credit: AFP Photo)
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Chris Froome (Team Sky) in the chasing group (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
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Chris Froome (Sky) finished second to teammate Bradley Wiggins and moved into third place on general classification. (Image credit: AFP)
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Chris Froome (Sky) is the picture of concentration en route to his second place finish. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Chris Froome (Sky) re-set the best times at every checkpoint, only to have teammate Bradley Wiggins go faster. (Image credit: Sirotti)
Chris Froome was the ultimate support rider for his team leader Bradley Wiggins (Sky) at last year’s Vuelta a España - perhaps too good. The Kenyan-born rider, who is a British citizen, rode as a domestique in the Spanish grand tour and as much as Wiggins wanted to win, his teammate was frankly better.
It’s arguable that Froome could have won the entire race if he had not waited for Wiggins at a number of crucial moments. He was stronger in the time trials, performing the pace setting in the mountains and could have finished on the top step if team orders didn’t insist he stay with Wiggins. It wasn't until late in the race that Wiggins accepted Froome was the stronger rider.
This year Froome is once again at the service of Wiggins but after eight stages and heading into a crucial time trial, he lies in sixth place and just 1:32 behind the current leader of the general classification and teammate, Wiggins. Froome will be given the green light to give his all in the 41.5km time trial and while he may end the day a couple of places higher it's the following two weeks he'll more likely do damage to the other contenders. He's got the opportunity to finish on the podium but unless Wiggins suffers a huge collapse, he won't be on the top step when the race finishes in Paris.
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