Chris Froome
Who was Chris Froome?
Kenyan-born British cyclist who won the Tour de France four times (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) and multiple Olympic medals.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Chris Froome (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Christopher Clive Froome was born on May 20, 1985, in Nairobi, Kenya, to British parents. He grew up in Kenya and later in South Africa, attending St John's College in Johannesburg. Froome began his cycling career in Africa and turned professional in 2007 with Team Konica Minolta in South Africa when he was 22. A year later, he joined Barloworld, moved to Italy, and started competing under a British license after initially representing Kenya internationally.
He joined Team Sky in 2010 and quickly became known as one of the team's most reliable climbers. His first major success came at the 2011 Vuelta a España, where he initially finished second overall, but this was later revised to first place, making him the first British cyclist to retrospectively win a Grand Tour. In the 2012 Tour de France, he supported Bradley Wiggins, winning stage seven and finishing second overall, establishing himself as a top future contender for Grand Tours.
Froome's first Tour de France win was in 2013, the same year he also won the Tour of Oman, Critérium International, Tour de Romandie, and Critérium du Dauphiné. He received the Vélo d'Or award, naming him the world's best cyclist. Although multiple crashes forced him to retire from the Tour de France in 2014, he made a strong comeback in 2015 to win his second title, again winning the Critérium du Dauphiné as a warm-up. Froome claimed his third Tour de France win in 2016, becoming the first man to successfully defend the title in consecutive years since Miguel Induráin in 1995.
The 2017 season was exceptional for Froome, as he secured a fourth Tour de France victory and also won the Vuelta a España, a race he won initially in 2011. In 2018, he claimed the Giro d'Italia title, completing his collection of all three Grand Tours and becoming one of the few cyclists to hold all three simultaneously. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2015 for his contributions to cycling. Froome has also won two Olympic bronze medals in the road time trial, at the 2012 London Games and the 2016 Rio Games, along with a bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships. Since 2011, he has lived in Monaco.
Before Fame
Froome spent his early years in Kenya, then moved to South Africa, where he went to St John's College in Johannesburg. Cycling wasn't a major sport at the elite road racing level in either country, so his development took a different path compared to his European peers who had access to established racing academies from a young age. He initially raced for Kenya before switching to a British license after moving to Italy.
His professional career started modestly with Team Konica Minolta in South Africa in 2007, followed by a move to Barloworld in 2008. These early years provided him with important professional racing experience, but it was his move to Team Sky in 2010 that placed him in an environment where he could develop his impressive climbing skills into Grand Tour-winning form.
Key Achievements
- Four-time Tour de France champion (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)
- Winner of the Giro d'Italia (2018) and Vuelta a España (2011, 2017), completing all three Grand Tours
- Three-time Vélo d'Or winner (2013, 2015, 2017)
- Two Olympic bronze medals in the road time trial (2012, 2016)
- Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2015
Did You Know?
- 01.Froome initially represented Kenya in international cycling before switching to a British licence in 2008 after moving to Italy.
- 02.His 2011 Vuelta a España win was only confirmed retrospectively through disqualification proceedings, making him the first British Grand Tour winner in history before Bradley Wiggins's 2012 Tour de France.
- 03.He won the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España, and the Giro d'Italia in a stretch of less than twelve months between July 2017 and May 2018.
- 04.Froome won the Vélo d'Or, cycling's most prestigious individual award, three times: in 2013, 2015, and 2017.
- 05.He has won two Olympic bronze medals, both in the road time trial discipline, at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Officer of the Order of the British Empire | 2015 | — |
| Vélo d'Or | 2013 | — |
| Mendrisio d'or | 2013 | — |
| Vélo d'Or | 2015 | — |
| Vélo d'Or | 2017 | — |