Froome, Chris

Chris Froome, in full Christopher Clive Froome, (born May 20, 1985, Nairobi, Kenya), Kenyan-born British cyclist who was a four-time winner of the Tour de France (2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017).

Froome was born in Nairobi to British parents who later divorced when his father filed for bankruptcy. He and his mother, who encouraged his riding, moved to South Africa, where he was educated and began training at the age of 12 with Kenyan cyclist David Kinjah. Froome, who learned to speak Swahili and a little Kikuyu (a regional language), was included by Kinjah in excursions with much-older native Kenyan riders on basic bikes through the dusty rural highlands near Nairobi. After attending a South African boarding school, he studied economics for two years at the University of Johannesburg, but, unlike his two brothers (both accountants), he decided to pursue a cycling career.

Chris Froome

At the age of 22, Froome turned professional and raced (2007) for the South African Team Konica Minolta. In 2008 he joined the South African-sponsored cycling Team Barloworld and competed in the Tour de France, finishing 84th. He came to the attention of British coach Rod Ellingworth, who was impressed by his climbing skills and willing to overlook his inexperience and his tendency to crash during twisty Alpine descents. Though he raced for Kenya, Froome held a British passport, and Ellingworth encouraged him to apply for a British racing license so that he could benefit from the experience of British teams. He joined Team Sky in 2010, though for much of that year he was plagued by the effects of schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease. The following year he finished second in the Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), and in 2012 he placed behind British Team Sky winner Bradley Wiggins in the Tour de France.

Froome won his first Tour de France in 2013, the same year he received the Velo d’Or award for best rider of the year. He was also designated leader of Team Sky that year. He won the Tour de France again in 2015. Because of his consistently high level of performance, questions were raised about the possibility of his having used performance-enhancing drugs. In an effort to allay such suspicions, Froome released the results of his physiological tests following the 2015 Tour. The next year Froome became the first Tour de France winner in more than two decades to successfully defend his title—despite crashing twice, having to sprint uphill on foot when his bike was damaged in an accident, and engaging in a daredevil downhill attack as he lay prone atop his handlebars in an aero position.

In 2017 Froome ran his streak of consecutive Tour de France titles to three with his closest margin of victory (54 seconds) in that event. Later that year he became the first British rider to win the Vuelta a España. He also was the first rider in nearly four decades to win that race and the Tour de France in the same year. However, he failed a drug test during the Vuelta a España after his urine was found to have had double the permitted amount of the asthma drug salbutamol. Froome claimed that while he had increased the dosage when his asthma worsened, he had not surpassed the allowable amount. An investigation was subsequently launched during which Froome was allowed to continue competing. He continued to make history in May 2018 when he won the Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy), becoming the third cyclist to win the three Grand Tours consecutively. Two months later the doping case against Froome was dropped.

In June 2019, while competing in the Critérium du Dauphiné in France, Froome was involved in a serious crash that resulted in numerous injuries, including a broken hip. He did not return to racing until February 2020, when he participated in the UAE Tour. That event, however, was canceled mid-race because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In Olympic competition, Froome won consecutive bronze medals in the men’s time trial, a road cycling event, at the 2012 London Games and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. He published his autobiography, The Climb (written with David Walsh), in 2014. Two years later Froome was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).