Having previously given his strong endorsement to Team Sky and been forced to back track after the Bradley Wiggins TUE controversy, David Walsh has backed Chris Froome.
The Team Sky leader struggled on many stages during the opening two weeks of the Giro.
But he came good in the vital final week. He went into stage 19, to Bardonecchia, in 4th place overall.
He had gained time, with others, the previous day on then race leader Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott).
And then on that nineteenth stage he attacked with 80km remaining. He was 3:22 down on Yates at the start and 2:54 off Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb).
But he would win the stage solo, by exactly three minutes, on Richard Carapaz (Movistar). Dumoulin was 3:23 down and Yates completely cracked, losing almost 39 minutes.
That put Froome into the maglia rosa, but 40 seconds from Dumoulin. And he rode into Rome on Sunday the winner.
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From appearing to be completely out of the running, he won overall. And now he holds all three Grand Tour titles; Giro, Tour and Vuelta.
But his Vuelta win is controversial as it emerged after the race was over had had returned an adverse sample for asthma drug salbutamol.
He is still in the process of trying to explain how he exceeded the legal limit. And while that process is ongoing he is legally permitted to race.
However, many in the sport believe he should not race until the matter is resolved. And the manner of his 80km breakaway, along with the distrust of Team Sky, has caused doubt in some quarters about Froome’s Vuelta return.
But David Walsh says it should come as no surprise that Froome was able to put in his Giro-winning attack.
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He said the climb he attacked on was unpaved and so reminded him of roads back in Africa, where Froome grew up.
Walsh added Froome has always been a fearless descender, so it was no surprise he also gained time going down the climbs.
He also pointed out Froome has always been good at riding against the clock, so a solo move suited him.
Finally, Froome and his trainer Tim Kerrison had perfected training to peak in the third week of a Grand Tour.
There was “no evidence that Froome doped” to deliver last Friday’s breakaway, Walsh wrote. And there was lots of evidence that Froome is a “unique athlete” with “extraordinary mental toughness”.
“That means accepting that if there was some wrongdoing at the Vuelta last year, it was a one-off,” Walsh says.
“It certainly was not coincidental that he was so comfortable on the unpaved section of the climb to the summit of Finestre. He said it reminded him of roads around Nairobi in his native Kenya.”
Of Froome’s gaining time going down the climb, Walsh says: “How a man descends from a mountain cannot be explained in any way other than his technique and his mindset.
“Froome is fearless and takes risks that other riders would avoid.”
He was also no surprise, Walsh said, Chris Froome attacked with so far to go and was able to keep it going.
“He has always been good against the clock but it is not just that,” he wrote in his Sunday Times story.
“When Froome began working with his Australian coach Tim Kerrison at Team Sky he discovered a kindred spirit, someone prepared to push as hard as Froome himself.
“Between them, they have mastered the art of preparing for a three-week tour, knowing the key is to be strongest in week three.”
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