Why Chris Froome won’t jeopardise Tour hopes by riding the Giro
The three-time Tour de France winner is unlikely to compromise his chances at a fourth yellow jersey in search of Giro d'Italia glory

Chris Froome onstage 15 of the 2016 Tour de France (Yuzuru Sunada)
The question of whether Chris Froome will line up in next year’s Giro d’Italia for the first time in seven seasons hangs on another: is the Giro-Tour de France double still possible in the current era?
Almost two decades have passed since Marco Pantani last achieved this feat, and back in 1998 cycling looked very different indeed.
>>> Giro d’Italia 2017 route revealed
Since then, a string of riders has been hyped for the Giro-Tour double, Alberto Contador being the most recent and high-profile. The Spaniard claimed a second ‘corsa rosa’ victory in 2015 and then moved on to the Tour to challenge Froome for the yellow jersey only to finish fifth and off the pace in Paris.
While glad that he had attempted the double before the end of his career, Contador described the challenge as ‘complicated’.
Fatigued by a race-long battle with Fabio Aru’s Astana team at the Giro, the Spaniard was below his best at the Tour. Contador suggested the Giro-Tour double is possible if a rider can manage to work out the ideal preparation for it.
Is Froome the man who can do this? At the moment, the Sky team leader looks the rider best placed to achieve the double. He has the ability and the expertise behind him to make it viable.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
>>> Froome pleased with 2017 Tour de France route as organisers try to inspire attacking racing
Yet, there is a good reason why Froome has consistently opted to attempt the Tour-Vuelta double. His rivals are generally the same at these two races. Consequently, most of them are no fresher than him heading into three hot weeks in Spain.
By switching to a Giro-Tour focus, he would be likely face the same kind of intense battle Contador did in 2015 and then arrive at the Tour with that in his legs and his main rivals all at 100 per cent.
Froome’s tweet that he likes the look of a Giro that features time trials of 38 and 29 kilometres may have race director Mauro Vegni hyperventilating with excitement, but should be set against his comments at last week’s Tour presentation in Paris.
"One day I’d like to take a look at the Giro, but at the moment I’m still focused on the Tour. It looks a lot harder to do the Giro-Tour double and my experience is that I’ve been a lot closer with the Tour-Vuelta double.
"The Tour remains the number one goal," he stated.
If the Tour is his number goal, the Giro almost certainly won’t feature on his programme next year. Froome was better placed than most to see how Contador struggled at the 2015 Tour, and the Spaniard is the rival he admires above all others.
And as the hype builds around the possibility of Froome returning to a race that he was kicked out of in 2010 for hanging onto a motorbike on the Mortirolo, it should also be noted that Froome, as he himself points out, has yet to complete the Tour-Vuelta double that is widely regarded as a more achievable challenge.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Peter Cossins has been writing about professional cycling since 1993, with his reporting appearing in numerous publications and websites including Cycling Weekly, Cycle Sport and Procycling - which he edited from 2006 to 2009. Peter is the author of several books on cycling - The Monuments, his history of cycling's five greatest one-day Classic races, was published in 2014, followed in 2015 by Alpe d’Huez, an appraisal of cycling’s greatest climb. Yellow Jersey - his celebration of the iconic Tour de France winner's jersey won the 2020 Telegraph Sports Book Awards Cycling Book of the Year Award.
-
Lorena Wiebes surges to 100th career victory at Gent-Wevelgem
The Dutch rider continued her near-unbeaten 2025 with SD Worx–Protime
By Alex Lancaster-Lennox Published
-
'It is crazy': Mads Pedersen takes historic victory at Gent-Wevelgem
The Lidl-Trek rider's dominance marked the second successive men's winner in more than 30 years and becomes the seventh member of the Club Trois.
By Alex Lancaster-Lennox Published
-
'An unprecedented opportunity for brands to be part of the evolution' - Ineos Grenadiers sponsor hunt steps up with sales agency partnership
Sportfive have been employed to find "non-endemic global partners for the team"
By Adam Becket Published
-
'We've all got a little bit extra in us this year' - Ineos Grenadiers recapture 'fighting spirit' with aggressive Paris-Nice display
British team continue to put tumultuous 2024 behind them with momentum and a new found mentality
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Could a TotalEnergies deal be the end of Ineos Grenadiers as we know them?
Reports suggested this week that Ineos could be close to signing a deal with the French petrochemical firm
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'They’re racing with their hearts again' - Robbie McEwen on Ineos Grenadiers' bright start to 2025
The British squad have already won four times in 2025
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers are entertaining so far this year, but how long will it last?
The British WorldTour squad have won four times already in 2025, but more than that, they have been fun. Is this the new dawn?
By Adam Becket Published
-
Caleb Ewan says he was put in a 'bad situation' by Jayco AlUla before he joined Ineos Grenadiers
Ewan joined Ineos Grenadiers in January after spending just one year with Jayco AlUla
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'There's no bull****, that's what I've always liked' - Geraint Thomas's first BC coach Rod Ellingworth on the retiring Welshman
The 2018 Tour de France winner will step away from professional cycling at the end of the season
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'It is time to change goals' - Egan Bernal's coach confirms Ineos Grenadiers exit
'I want to thank all the cyclists I have had the opportunity to coach over the past ten years' Xabier Artetxe says in LinkedIn post
By Tom Thewlis Published