Chris Froome: 'Realistically I'm not looking for victories myself' in 2025
Briton looks ahead to final year of Israel-Premier Tech contract at the Tour of Guangxi
With one year left on his contract at Israel-Premier Tech, Chris Froome is potentially looking ahead to 2025 as his final season in the peloton.
The Briton, currently rounding out his 2024 campaign at the Tour of Guangxi, is in the penultimate year of a five-year contract at the squad and turns 40 next May, some 17 years after turning pro with Barloworld.
Speaking at the Tour of Guangxi, Froome said that he's "looking to do what I can" in cycling, even if he's not thinking about going for results himself as he once was.
"I'm going to sit down with the team towards the end of the season and figure out exactly what next year looks like and get stuck into it," Froome told WielerFlits ahead of Wednesday's stage 2 in Guangxi.
"At this point, I'm looking just to do what I can in the sport. Realistically I'm not looking for victories myself.
"Very much so," he responded when asked if he was still having fun racing. "I love the sport and love riding my bike so that makes it a lot easier."
Froome spent much of the stage, a sprinter's day running 181km from Chongzuo to Jingxi, out in the main breakaway group.
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He's wearing 161 as team leader in China but will be riding in support of teammates during the week, including young talent Joseph Blackmore, the 21-year-old Tour de l'Avenir winner who looks to be leading the team's GC charge.
Another British rider, Jake Stewart, took third place for the team in Jingxi, while Ethan Vernon is another option in the sprint finishes.
"I wouldn't say it's a new role," Froome said of his work supporting his teammates this week. "I've always done my best to help my teammates and I'm happy to do that.
"In terms of future for Britain, I think he's got a great chance of developing into a really big rider for the future," he added when asked about Blackmore, who also won the Tour du Rwanda and Tour de Taiwan earlier this season.
Froome, who in his heyday between 2011 and 2018 won seven Grand Tours including four Tours de France, was also asked about the current dominance of Tadej Pogačar.
While he racked up 17 GC victories during his own spell of dominance, Froome said that Pogačar – who has 88 career wins to his own 46, is a different rider altogether.
"It comes naturally when you become so dominant," Froome said of the criticism that comes with dominance in the sport.
"But obviously my dominance was very different. It was much more around the Grand Tours whereas he's just doing it at every race he goes to by the looks of it, whether it's the spring Classics, the end-of-season Classics or the Grand Tours.
"The season he's had is just incredible, absolutely incredible."
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.