Chris Froome, winner of the Tour de France 2013, was born on 20 May 1985 in Nairobi (Kenya) and is the son of British father Clive and mother Jane, who was born in Kenya.
‘Froomey’ got enthusiastic at the age of twelve years old, when his mother took him to a bike race, it took however another few years before he started to compete in biking events. At that race, he also met his later mentor, David Kinjah.
Chris Froome joined the Super C Cycling Academy and started to participate in bicycle races in South Africa, since he moved there for schooling when the young Froome was 14 years old. Cycling experts in the African country saw potential in the talented cyclist and Chris Froome turned professional in 2007, when he signed a contract with South African-based Konica Minolta Cycling Team.
A year later the African neo-professional switched to another team, Barloworld from Great Britain. This cycling team gave him the opportunity to compete in famous European races, such as Paris – Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Tour de France. This was a weird experience for him, he describes on his website: “It was a surreal feeling to be riding events I’d only ever seen on TV, alongside riders I’d only read about in magazines”.
Less than a month before the start of the most prestigious bike event in the world, Chris Froome lost his mother, who was suffering from an illness. However, this did not stop him from competing in the 2008 Tour de France. ‘Froome Dawg’ ended 84th overall in the yellow jersey classification. In 2008, he also switched from riding under a Kenyan license to riding for the British cycling federation.
First professional win
In 2009, Froome claimed his first professional wins by finishing first in the second stage of the Giro del Capo and winning the Anatomic Jock Race. Both races were held in South Africa. In the Giro d’ Italia he finished as 36th.
Chris Froome and Sky
A year later, Chris Froome joined Team SKY, which described the young cyclist as ‘a rough diamond, in need of shaping and polishing’. After a not so successful first year, ‘Froomey’ had his breakthrough in 2011, finishing second overall in one of the major European competitions, the Vuelta a Espana.
In 2012, the African-born professional finished second in the Tour de France, after teammate Bradley Wiggins. His attacking style was too much for many of his competitors during mountain stages and many people believe that Chris Froome could have won the 2012 Tour de France, if the management of the SKY cycling wouldn’t have ordered him to support team-leader Wiggins. During the 2012 Olympic Games in London, representing Great Britain, Froome finished 3rd during the Time Trial event.
Already early during 2013, the management of Team SKY announced that Chris Froome would be the team leader of the professional cycling team during the Tour de France and confidence in the Kenyan-born Briton paid off: he won the 8th, 15th and 17th stage and finished first overall, winning the prestigious yellow jersey.
Chris Froome Personal Life
Chris Froome is since the Summer of 2013 engaged with cycling photographer Michelle Cound, they live together in Monaco.
