Vuelta runner-up had been courted by eight teams
Initially chased by eight teams due to his unexpected second place overall in the Vuelta a España, Kenya-born British rider Chris Froome has agreed an extension of his current deal with Sky Procycling and will remain put until the end of 2014.
The 26 year old rider has been rewarded for his strong performance, which could potentially have translated into overall victory had he not dedicated himself to Bradley Wiggins early on, even after taking the red leader’s jersey. He proved he was stronger than Wiggins as the race went on, and won a thrilling stage to the summit of Peña Cabarga.
“Chris’ performance at the Tour of Spain was tremendously exciting and generated much interest and competition for his services from other teams,” said team principal Dave Brailsford in a Sky Procycling statement. “In light of this we are very pleased that he has chosen Team Sky as the best place to continue his career.
“We are all very much looking forward to supporting Chris’ future development and working with him to consolidate and build on his breakthrough performance over the coming seasons.”
It is thought that the final battle for his signature came down to two teams, namely Saxo Bank SunGard and Sky Procycling. The former is led by Alberto Contador but with his future uncertain due to his pending hearing in from of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, taking Froome on board could have been good insurance in case the Spaniard is banned.
Richie Porte, the Australian rider who had seemed like a good medium term bet as a team leader, has signed a deal with Sky Procycling, twelve months after first being linked to the British team.
That made Froome an attractive prospect but, when all the negotiations were done, Sky Procycling gave him the financial and peformance guarantees to convince him to stay on board.
He said that he’s happy with the decision. “Standing on the podium at this year’s Vuelta a España was the highlight of my professional career so far. But that success was only possible because of everyone at Team Sky, both on and off the road, and so I am absolutely delighted to be signing an extension to stay with the team for the next three years,” stated Froome.
“Team Sky has made a tremendous impact on professional cycling in a very short space of time. We have an outstanding backroom team and some of the most talented riders in the peloton. I am very much looking forward to going into future events with the current support structure behind me.”
The rider took a top ten finish in the Tour du Haut Var in 2010, soon after signing for the team, but was affected by a rare parasitical infection called bilharza. This affected his red blood cells and he credits this as the reason why, after successful treatment, his performances have improved so much of late.
Sky Procycling has not yet stated what his status on the team will be, in relation to Bradley Wiggins. He had been seen as the team’s clear GC leader for races such as the Tour de France, but Froome now seems to also be a real prospect for cycling’s top events.