Chris Froome still deliberating racing into 2026 🇬🇧
The veteran is contemplating another year on the bike with the Tour or the Vuelta possibly on his schedule this summer
Hi Subscribers,
Good afternoon from San Lorenzo Dorsino and the finish of stage 1 at the Tour of the Alps.
Today, we saw Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) take a well-deserved win, his first victory since claiming the KOM jersey at the Tour de France in 2023.
Our first newsletter from the race is an interview with Chris Froome, who has just returned to racing after breaking his collarbone at the UAE Tour earlier this year. We also spoke to Froome’s teammate and highly rated climber, Matthew Riccitello, about his season, with the Vuelta pencilled in for later this year. The young American is out of contract and one of the best climbers on the market this season, so he’s worth keeping tabs on. Both interviews are in this newsletter.
We also caught up with Matt Winston and Romain Bardet about Team Picnic PostNL’s season so far, the threat of relegation, and the weeks and months ahead as Bardet targets the Giro d’Italia during his final season before retirement, and the team looks to bounce back from a run of injuries and crashes. That newsletter will be out tomorrow morning.
For Founding Members of the Substack, we have the audio interviews with Froome, AJ August, Romain Bardet and some Ciccone thrown in for good measure.
To become a Founding Member and have access to the interviews in our WhatsApp group, simply update your subscription by clicking on the link below. Supporting my work helps me get to races and provides you with behind-the-scenes news on transfers and the vast majority of my audio interviews.
Daniel 🫶
Chris Froome (Israel—Premier Tech) is keeping the door open on racing in 2026, insisting that his legs will ultimately decide whether he continues in the sport. The 39-year-old is out of contract at the end of the current campaign, with his five-year deal set to conclude.
He is presently racing at the Tour of the Alps, where he is bouncing back from injury. He crashed and broke his collarbone at the UAE Tour earlier this season. Following immediate surgery, the four-time Tour de France winner spent time in Tenerife, training at altitude as he rebuilt his form.
“I feel good. There’s always work to do, and it was a big setback with the collarbone. I spent a lot of time over the winter getting ready for the new season and that really put me back to square one but shit happens. It’s becoming more and more common in the peloton, with broken collarbones and broken bones. I’m just happy to get back into it now and keep building from here,” he said at the start of stage 1 in San Lorenzo Dorsino.
The peloton has seen a spate of heavy crashes this season. While the sport is trying to improve safety measures, the number of incidents has increased anecdotally, at least. We spoke to one sports director this morning who deliberated over the long list of riders he had picked up from the tarmac this season, and who sustained broken bones and serious injuries.
Froome also believes that the number of crashes this season has been on an upward trajectory.