La Vuelta 2020 - Chris Froome - 'It's unrealistic for me to expect to challenge'

ByTom Bennett

Updated 21/10/2020 at 16:28 GMT

Chris Froome says that his performance in Stage 1 of La Vuelta wasn’t as catastrophic as it may have looked, and says he feels like he’s getting stronger all the time as he continues his comeback from major injury in 2019. The Vuelta is expected to be Froome’s final race for Ineos, with the 35-year-old set to join the Israel Start-up Nation squad for next season.

Chris Froome says that the next few weeks at La Vuelta are all about getting some form and miles back into his legs at the top level.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider is on the comeback trail after his serious crash in 2019 and looked way off his best in the opening stage as he dropped over 11 minutes down the general classification.

However, despite his disappointing start Froome is hopeful of being of more use to his team than he was on Tuesday. Be he says it’s unrealistic to expect him to be competing at the very top level given the context of the last 18 months.

Vuelta a España

'There's a lot of anger' - Roglic involved in crash on Stage 12

00:02:14

|

26/08/2021 at 15:20

“All in all yesterday I felt pretty good, definitely better than I felt in races earlier this season,” Froome said.

Froome - 'This is a process I have to go through to get back to the top level'

“I was caught a little bit out of position coming into that penultimate climb and got stuck behind the Michael Woods crash at the bottom of the climb so I started sort of on the back foot chasing. I just couldn’t manage to get back on. I got close, but I think it’s pretty clear that even if I got back on at that point I wouldn’t be able to do much in the final. So I just sat up there.

"I’m quite happy generally with how the legs are feeling and I’m fully conscious that this is a process I’m going to have to go through these next few weeks to try and get back to that top level again.

• La Vuelta classification rankings and standings
• La Vuelta Stage 2 - LIVE

"Getting this racing in the legs will be really important for me, for next year as well," Froome told reporters ahead of Stage 2.

"It’s unrealistic for me to think that I’m going to come back into Grand Tour racing after two years off and obviously that injury I had and come straight back to the top level. Hopefully I’ll be able to get as much intensity as I can in the legs over the next few weeks.”

The Vuelta is expected to be Froome’s final race for Ineos, with the 35-year-old set to join the Israel Start-up Nation squad for next season.

Vuelta a España

‘We deserve a rest day!’ – Roglic after he puts time into rivals

00:01:36

|

23/08/2021 at 07:34

Vuelta a España

‘He owns it!’ - Caruso claims stunning Stage 9 win

00:02:04

|

22/08/2021 at 17:09

Vuelta a España

On board highlights: Witness the thrills and big crash up close on Stage 5

00:01:24

|

19/08/2021 at 14:21