Chris Froome
The British rider who won four Tour de France titles and made the yellow jersey his own in the mid-2010s.
Chris Froome is a British former professional road racing cyclist who has won seven Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de France (in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), one Giro d'Italia (2018) and the Vuelta a España twice (2011 and 2017). He has also won the Vélo d'Or three times, two Olympic bronze medals in road time trials (2012 and 2016), and bronze in the 2017 World Championships. Froome was born in Kenya to parents of British origin and grew up there and in South Africa. Since 2011 he has been a resident of Monaco. In 2007, at the age of 22, Froome turned professional with Team Konica Minolta in South Africa. In 2008, he joined the team Barloworld and moved to Italy, riding under a British licence. In 2010, he moved to Team Sky and quickly became one of the team's key cyclists. His breakthrough as a Grand Tour contender came during the 2011 Vuelta a España where he finished second overall, later promoted to first, becoming the first British cyclist to win a Grand Tour. At the 2012 Tour de France, riding as a super-domestique for Bradley Wiggins, Froome won stage seven and finished second overall. His first recognised multi-stage race win came in 2013, in the Tour of Oman, followed by wins in the Critérium International, the Tour de Romandie, the Critérium du Dauphiné, and the Tour de France. In the 2014 Tour de France, he retired after multiple crashes. In 2015, he won his second Critérium du Dauphiné and his second Tour de France. He won a third Tour de France in 2016 and became the first man since Miguel Induráin in 1995 to successfully defend his title. He won his fourth Tour de France in 2017, followed by successive wins at the 2017 Vuelta a España and the 2018 Giro d'Italia, his first victories in both races. These achievements made him the first cyclist to win the Tour–Vuelta double since the Vuelta was moved to September, the first rider to achieve any Grand Tour double in nearly a decade, and the first to hold all three Grand Tour winners' jerseys at the same time since Bernard Hinault in 1983. Throughout his career Froome has faced a series of allegations that he exploited a loophole in cycling's anti-doping regulations to use performance-enhancing drugs. In 2023 his former coach was banned for violating anti-doping rules and tampering with anti-doping investigations. In 2019 a serious training crash before the Critérium du Dauphiné halted Froome's career, after he broke numerous bones including his pelvis, femur and four ribs. Although he recovered from surgery to rejoin the peloton, he never regained his pre-crash form.
- Nationality
- British
- Primary Team
- Team Sky
- Tour de France GC Wins
- 4 (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)
- Signature Jersey
- Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey)
- Dominant Era
- Mid-2010s (2013–2017)
- Status
- Retired
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Froome's Tour de France story began in 2012 when he rode as a super-domestique for Bradley Wiggins, winning stage seven and finishing second overall. His first Tour de France victory came in 2013, after he had already won the Tour of Oman, Critérium International, Tour de Romandie, and Critérium du Dauphiné that season. In 2014 he retired after multiple crashes. He returned to win his second Tour de France in 2015, having also won his second Critérium du Dauphiné that year. In 2016 he won a third Tour de France, becoming the first man since Miguel Induráin in 1995 to successfully defend his title. His fourth Tour de France win came in 2017, followed by successive wins at the 2017 Vuelta a España and the 2018 Giro d'Italia. These achievements made him the first cyclist to win the Tour–Vuelta double since the Vuelta was moved to September, the first rider to achieve any Grand Tour double in nearly a decade, and the first to hold all three Grand Tour winners' jerseys at the same time since Bernard Hinault in 1983. His career was halted in 2019 by a serious training crash before the Critérium du Dauphiné, in which he broke his pelvis, femur and four ribs. Although he recovered from surgery to rejoin the peloton, he never regained his pre-crash form.
In Their Own Story
The 2013 Tour de France was Froome's first overall victory. He had already won the Tour of Oman, Critérium International, Tour de Romandie, and Critérium du Dauphiné that year. In 2014 he retired after multiple crashes. In 2015 he won his second Critérium du Dauphiné and his second Tour de France. In 2016 he won a third Tour de France, becoming the first man since Miguel Induráin in 1995 to successfully defend his title. In 2017 he won his fourth Tour de France, followed by the 2017 Vuelta a España and the 2018 Giro d'Italia. These achievements made him the first cyclist to win the Tour–Vuelta double since the Vuelta was moved to September, the first rider to achieve any Grand Tour double in nearly a decade, and the first to hold all three Grand Tour winners' jerseys at the same time since Bernard Hinault in 1983. In 2019 a serious training crash before the Critérium du Dauphiné halted his career, after he broke numerous bones including his pelvis, femur and four ribs. Although he recovered from surgery to rejoin the peloton, he never regained his pre-crash form.
Reader's Guide
Froome's Tour de France story is defined by four overall victories: 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2013 he won his first Tour de France after winning the Tour of Oman, Critérium International, Tour de Romandie, and Critérium du Dauphiné. In 2014 he retired after multiple crashes. In 2015 he won his second Critérium du Dauphiné and his second Tour de France. In 2016 he won a third Tour de France, becoming the first man since Miguel Induráin in 1995 to successfully defend his title. In 2017 he won his fourth Tour de France, followed by the 2017 Vuelta a España and the 2018 Giro d'Italia. These achievements made him the first cyclist to win the Tour–Vuelta double since the Vuelta was moved to September, the first rider to achieve any Grand Tour double in nearly a decade, and the first to hold all three Grand Tour winners' jerseys at the same time since Bernard Hinault in 1983. In 2019 a serious training crash before the Critérium du Dauphiné halted his career, after he broke numerous bones including his pelvis, femur and four ribs. Although he recovered from surgery to rejoin the peloton, he never regained his pre-crash form.
Did You Know?
- Froome was born in Nairobi, Kenya, to parents of British origin, and grew up there and in South Africa.
- He won his first Grand Tour at the 2011 Vuelta a España, becoming the first British cyclist to win a Grand Tour.
- In 2017 he became the first cyclist to win the Tour–Vuelta double since the Vuelta was moved to September.
- He was the first rider to hold all three Grand Tour winners' jerseys at the same time since Bernard Hinault in 1983.
- In 2019 a training crash before the Critérium du Dauphiné broke his pelvis, femur and four ribs, and he never regained his pre-crash form.
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