Jayco Herald Sun Tour scores big win as superstar Chris Froome steps on the gas
CHRIS Froome hasn’t been paid a cent of appearance money to participate in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, so the presence of the dual Le Tour champ was always going to be a win-win.
Cycling
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CHRIS Froome hasn’t been paid a cent of appearance money to participate in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, so the presence of the dual Tour de France winner - a credential which qualifies him as one of the world’s most accomplished sportsmen - was always going to be good value for the race regardless of what he delivered.
Tour director John Trevorrow could scarcely believe the return he got on his non-investment on Thursday. Well, he could actually - before the first road stage around the Yarra Valley, he predicted Froome would “light up” the race and his Team Sky colleague Peter Kennaugh would win.
Spot on.
This was truly one of the most memorable days in the 63-year-old race’s colourful history with several thousand fans - probably a record for any stage held outside Melbourne - congregating in Healesville in the hope of seeing something special from the marquee man, and getting it. As with all road cycling, it didn’t cost them anything either.
It was a race with a bit of everything: a long six-man breakaway that had to be reeled in, a couple of crashes, one of which eliminated two riders, and finally the sight of Froome imposing himself on a challenging hill climb near the finish and then ensuring his mate could hold off the few riders with the legs to make a race of it.
Froome could have won if he had decided to.
He elected not to, which was a meaningful measure of the man quite apart from his obvious class as a pedaller.
Like most of the best sports, elite cycling is as much about teamwork as individual brilliance, with no champion able to win at the highest levels unless he is protected and assisted by colleagues known as domestiques, sort of like worker bees attending to the queen.
When Froome won the world’s greatest race in 2013 and again last year that was precisely Kennaugh’s role, even though he is a performer of considerable substance himself - the British road champion and Olympic gold medallist on the track.
This time, the roles were reversed. “He has emptied himself on the road for me so it was really nice to be able to give something back,” Froome said.
“We are going to try to protect that now. We will try to keep the (leader’s) jersey on his shoulder.”
If there was any fear Froome would simply ride around for the practice - which he does need at the start of a hugely demanding year - and not really contribute much of substance other than his name, it has been comprehensively dispelled. He is taking his role as the “face” of the race seriously.
His star quality is not the same as that of another English sports “name” who has imposed himself on the Melbourne sporting summer.
Cricketer Kevin Pietersen is “out there” in a way the quietly-spoken Kenyan-born rider could never be, but as the crowd waited tensely for him to ride into sight the sense of anticipation was a lot like being at the Big Bash waiting for the first wicket to fall so “KP” could march to the middle.
The result was the same: runs on the board and plenty of applause.
Ron.reed@news.com.au
@Reedrw
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