Chris Froome has recorded a selfie video and posted it on YouTube to address recent criticisms of him, saying those who have criticised him "make me laugh".
While he had ridden very poorly at the recent Tour de Romandie, Froome said his asthma had really impacted him at that race because of the conditions, adding the cold often triggered his sports induced asthma.
He said of the bad weather in Romandie last week: “I, unfortunately,
started to feel… just chest really acting up on me, especially with my asthma I
find the cold is really quite a trigger for me. I’m not sure how many will have
seen the post-race interview I did after the time trial on the final stage.
“I crossed the finish line and a couple of journalists stuck a microphone in my face and wanted to catch up on how the week had gone… I couldn’t help myself from coughing between words. That’s basically just what happens to me on the sports induced asthma side of things."
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He added that even if he could not perform to his best at
present, he believed he would get back to that level eventually and that “being
in the bunch is beginning to feel a bit easier now”. And he also felt he could
really help the team, even though he was not getting results. His focus now
would be altitude training and trying to get his weight down.
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A section of the clip was dedicated to those who criticise him, especially on social media, saying the comments would only spur him on. The video also brings the viewer into one of Froome's rehab sessions and he shows the results of tests on his legs in great detail.
“Obviously over the last couple of races I’ve seen quite a lot of people on social media getting in touch and saying ‘listen, mate, hang up your bike. You’re done. You’re finished. You’re never going to get back there.’ It just makes me laugh,” Froome said.
“I mean, first of all I don’t think people know how bad my injuries were and how far I’ve had to come just to get back to a professional level of racing. But those people clearly don’t know me as a person either. I’m not just going to hang it up. I mean, know that I can get there.
“It’s going to take time; I’ve got a lot of work to do.
I’m prepared to do that work; that’s what drives me and gets me out of bed in
the morning. I thoroughly love the sacrifice and the whole regime and the work
side of being a professional cyclist and I’m not just going to throw in the
towel because I haven’t reached that point yet.
“So, yeah, the more of those messages that come my way,
the more it’s going to spur me on and motivate me to do even more.”
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