After Darrell Impay, the South African rider of Premier Tech, caught up with Corona and retired from the Tour de France even before it started, the element of achievement of the Israeli team dropped dramatically, and we were content with a safe arrival on the Champs Elysees.
Premier Tech holds one of the greatest riders in the industry's history, Chris Fromm, a cycling legend, but he too knows that this time he is probably not in the game.
This does not prevent him from waking up in the morning and smiling like a child.
For him - today there is a garden!
In the three episodes held in Denmark, Fromm appears to have been released, perhaps only concerned with avoiding an accident in which he will be involuntarily involved, and he did encounter two of these in the second and third episodes.
Caution helped him evade another injury or fracture.
Fromm.
Avoiding accidents, Photo: AFP
The four-time Tour de France winner is one of the busiest interviewees in the world, even when he is beyond his peak.
He may not be Ronaldo looking for himself outside of Manchester United, but he is an athlete just like him.
Just before the jump to the column, he took time to flatten his worldview on bicycles, Israelis and life.
The column
"I feel that every year we get a different edition of the Tour de France. Every Grand Tour is a story, it is a game. There will be good moments, bad moments, moments of attrition. For me it is a great privilege to be in the column again, to know up close what the story of the next three weeks is. "It's true that I've been in the column 9 times before, but it's exciting every time again."
"I feel like every year you get a different edition of the Tour de France," Photo: AP
motivation
"This is not the way I wanted to end my career, with this accident in the Criterium Dupina race. I was too young and motivated to say it. It's common in my career that I always went against the flow, I went through a lot of obstacles in my career and that's how I look at my recovery process since the crash. I know a lot of people who tell me that I won 7 Grand Tours and why I have to suffer? I will not win this year.
"It just means they do not know my character, it is not my nature. Athletes even towards their early 40s like Alejandro Valarda. I have a lot of love and passion for sports.
"I have a contract for next season, yes and a few more years. I really like this sport and even when I finish the episode as an active rider I will stay close to the sport one way or another. I grew up in Africa and saw how difficult it is to develop the bike industry there, there is not enough support on this continent. "It's exciting for me to get close to it and help. I grew up in Kenya, not Rwanda, but I think as many private organizations as they have initiated in the Israel Premier Tech team will help the continent and make us look more African in the future. It's a special way to be in this sport after my career."
Eli Stern
Israelis
"We are on our way to see the next jump of an Israeli rider. You have a team in the World Tour rankings and that makes a lot of young people follow us. Another five years, when they enter their early twenties with the dream of reaching the Tour de France, then the needle seems to start moving towards results. There are quite a few competitive Israeli riders in the group and this will only increase in the future.
"Israelis know what they want and how to get to it. This is a very important trait for cyclists. There are options they can take and they know it. It is a sport in which you create your own luck, it suits the Israeli character as much as I got to know it."
Fromm.
Get to know the Israelis closely, Photo: EPA
Victories
"We are a young team that has only been to the Tour de France three times. I can only try to develop the team and promote it to the list of the best in the world. It is quite special for me to ride for an Israeli team. My arrival at the Giro in Jerusalem was the beginning of the journey with Israel. It ended with my victory at the Giro and two years later I joined Israel Startup Nation, now Premier Tech. It's really a special connection, I love the goals of the project to make Israel a bicycle country. "That most of the outside world gets to experience Israel as I experienced, I became your ambassador."
Ready to roll on Stage 3 # TDF2022
📸 @mrconde pic.twitter.com/S9BFMy91cg
- Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) July 3, 2022
Bones, fractures and respect
"My body is definitely improving, I see great progress in recent weeks. This is the first serious opportunity since my serious accident in Dupina in 2019. In the last three years I have struggled to return to the high competitive level. It was a terrible crash, I broke my leg in two places, the arm and many other bones But I say with confidence that it's behind me, I'm feeling good and we'll see where my feet will take me in the coming weeks.
"I do not feel disrespected. I get a lot of energy and respect from the fans, I received such an insane amount in Denmark and the truth that everywhere in Europe. Of course not everyone will be happy and there will be reactions against me, but when I make a child happy with a signature or picture it reminds me why I still Here".
Fromm.
Will not win the column, but enjoys every moment, Photo: Reuters
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