Chris Froome made Moravia crazy. The masseur’s wife cooked for him

After a terrifying crash during the Tour de France dress rehearsal four years ago, retirement seemed inevitable. Kenyan-born Chris Froome was badly broken after crashing into a concrete bridge and few believed in his return to the saddle. But the Order of the British Empire winner didn’t give up and a few days ago he introduced himself to Czech fans at the Czech Tour.

He was injured in a time trial at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June 2019, with a broken hip, elbow, sternum, vertebrae and also his right leg. He had to undergo three surgeries, he was in a lot of pain. “But I didn’t want to end my career on a hospital bed,” Chris Froome confided on the Czech Tour organiser’s website.

The man who has dominated the Grand Tour seven times only made a full return to racing last year. Froome admitted that it was not until last year that he had a season where he felt no effects of the crash and was able to train and race 100%. His motivation to return to Grand Tour racing is huge.

However, Chris Froome missed out on this year’s Tour de France, missing out on the chance to win the most famous stage race for the fifth time. But when one of the most famous cyclists in history announced that he and his team Israel – Premier Tech would be coming to Prostějov for the start of the Czech Tour stage race, its organiser Leopold König was beside himself with happiness.

“This is fantastic news, Chris is a cycling icon and his participation in the Czech Tour is a unique opportunity for our fans to see him in the Czech Republic,” König gushed on the Czech Tour website. Both riders know each other very well. Chris Froome and Leopold König were teammates at Sky in the past.

The interest of the Czech fans was extreme

The four-stage race on Czech territory was won by German cyclist Florian Lipowitz of the Bora-hansgrohe stable. Chris Froome made it to the finish town of Šternberk, but withdrew from the race at the end of the final stage. However, the very participation of the British rider was the best promotion for the race.

“Chris was extremely professional right up until the very end. The way he behaved with the fans and was friendly was unusual for a star of his calibre. The effect of Chris Froome’s participation in the Czech Tour was simply enormous. It’s clear that we are thrilled to have him in the race,” confirmed Leopold König, saying that the participation of the famous cyclist has extremely increased the interest of the spectators.

“I was really surprised how many people wanted my signature, a team card or a group photo every day. Really incredible interest,” said Froome after the world peloton star climbed the Red Mountain saddle in the finish of the third stage.

He missed the start in Moravska Trebova for autographs and group photos. The front of the peloton was long gone from the square when Froome took to the course alongside the youngsters from Team Trinity. Even the grandmothers in the Unicov café knew that a star athlete had visited their town.

Chris Froome and his teammates in Hlušovice had a literal home service. In the small village near Olomouc lives the masseur of the Israel – Premier Tech team, Tomáš Rak. His house became the team’s base for four days.

The cyclists of the stable for which Chris Froome rides did not have a food truck or a team cook with them, so the food was prepared for the riders by the masseur’s wife. As a bonus, she baked cookies for the drivers, mechanics and sports directors.

Source: Czech Tour