La Vuelta 2020: ’11 incredibly special years’ – Chris Froome pays tribute to Ineos and Team Sky

Chris Froome’s illustrious career at Ineos Grenadiers (Team Sky) is over.

The 35-year-old dropped the curtain on his 11-year stint with the team when he arrived in Madrid on the final stage of the 2020 Tour of Spain.

Froome sent a heartfelt message to the team he joined as a Grand Tour virgin and finished as a seven-time champion.

“Thank you to each and every passenger, staff and management, who have been a part of my journey,” wrote Froome.

“It has been 11 incredibly special years and I will always treasure the time we spent together. Always with a lot of love and respect.”

Froome began his day by lifting the 2011 Vuelta trophy, a Grand Tour victory he received retrospectively last year.

And speaking after the stage, the two-time Vuelta champion said receiving the trophy added an extra layer of excitement to the day.

“It has been an exciting day, the last day with the team, 11 years have passed,” said Froome.

“I’m excited about what lies ahead, but it’s also time for me to reflect on all the ups and downs of the last 11 years.

“It turned out that the 2011 Vuelta was where I won my first Grand Tour. Receiving that trophy today brought back many memories of that period and the progression I had to get to that point. It kind of puts everything in perspective.”

Before the stage, Froome told Eurosport’s Ashley House that it was an extremely special moment for him to receive the trophy, particularly given the way he learned the news after his horrific accident at the Criterium Dauphine.

“It’s amazing to finally receive the 2011 Vuelta trophy, even more so because of the way I knew I had won the Vuelta,” said Froome.

“It’s incredible that they give you that trophy now and that they win me that Vuelta.

“That race for me was a really significant turning point in my career. It was the first time I had won a Grand Tour and it was the first time that I really had that confidence to race as a general classification rider and then aim for the Tour de France and more Grand Tours, I guess, from that victory.

“Going into that Vuelta I was given the job of trying to stay with Bradley in the mountains, and I can remember doing that job and helping him in the mountains. I pulled when I needed to, but I felt comfortable doing it.

“Those feelings gave me confidence and made me start thinking, ‘Wait, you can do this too.’ That was the first time I really started to believe in myself as a contender. “

Froome will be joining the Israel Start-Up Nation for next season, and compatriot Alex Dowsett (whose spell with the Israeli side is scheduled to end in the offseason) says the change should get Froome excited, even if it will come. as a shock to your system.

“I think it will be a shock to Froome because he has been part of Ineos for a decade, and going anywhere else when you have been part of the same team for ten years will be a shock,” Dowsett told Eurosport.

“I have raced for four different World Tour teams (Katusha, Movistar, Sky and Israel) and they are all different. That does not mean that some are different or worse than each other, it is just that there is more than one way to skin a cat.

“He seems to have enjoyed things at La Vuelta. I can’t imagine what last Grand Tour he went to when he had no pressure on his back. I think he will have fun.