Chris Froome has said contracting Covid-19 during the Tour de France was much more damaging than he realised at the time. He believed the virus had a significant impact on the heart and had also impaired his VO2 max. In recent weeks Froome registered a VO2 max of 72.1, normalised to 75 if he had been the same weight as when racing. Seven years ago he registered 84.6 normalised to 88.2.
The four-time Tour de France winner explained that, based on conversations he was having with other pro riders, many cyclists who had caught the virus struggled for months with their performance levels and with fatigue as well as irregular heart rates.
The Israel Premier Tech rider added when he caught Covid-19 during the Tour his resting heart was "much, much higher - I didn't notice it at the time, but looking back I can now see that". When the season was completed he came out of it "not feeling good and not feeling good on the bike".
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"I feel like I really needed a break. I feel as if having Covid at the end of the Tour de France really knocked me for six. I just wasn't able to come back from it. I never felt as if I had lots of energy again on my bike.
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"I went to the Vuelta hoping to sort of build up through the race. But all the way through the Vuelta I just felt flat, flat, flat. It was good for me to (recently) go over to Israel and do a lot of physiological tests and go and check VO2 max, which was definitely impacted, I think, by having Covid."
He also had "some heart checks" on his recent trip to Israel, which he felt was "important to do just to see that everything was alright".
"There's definitely a heavy impact on the heart, having Covid - it's not just like having the flu like a lot of people think. Especially for a lot of pro bike riders who I've spoken to in the peloton… a lot of guys are really struggling with aftereffects, two, three months down the line. (They are) feeling fatigued, feeling as if they don't have the same kind of energy levels, strange heart rate readings as well."
Froome said he was now "ramping up the training" at this time of year and being more conscious of his weight and diet. The current period was about "consistency" and getting rides of between four to seven hours completed each week.
"I'm probably doing between 3 and 6-6½ hours most days, with one or two days a week easy," he explained in his latest video diary. "The weather is a little hit and miss at this time of year. On a beautiful day I might go out and do a little bit more. If it's raining… either I'm going to cut the ride short or if it's slippery and freezing out on the roads, it's just not worth it."
