Chris Froome has weighed in on the discussion surrounding safety and rising speeds in the peloton, suggesting that it might reach a point which requires a “discussion about limiting the progression of technology” to accommodate for the increased risks to rider safety.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview about the probable final year as a professional as well as the dominance of Tadej Pogačar, the Israel-Premier Tech rider laid out one possible suggestion which could alleviate the safety problem – the limitation of gears.
As one of the oldest riders in the peloton at 39, Froome has experienced a massive boost to technology and overseen vast innovation to materials and equipment since he turned pro in 2008, with bunch speeds moving to record highs in recent years.
“We’re seeing the sport going faster and faster and races being raced differently with more stress, more fighting for position and unfortunately we’re seeing more serious crashes happening,” Froome told the La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“At some point, I think we’re maybe going to have to even have the discussion about limiting the progression of technology in the sport to accommodate for the safety aspect. That could be something as simple as limiting the gears we’re using for example.”
This comes after Wout van Aert argued similarly in conversation with Sporza earlier in the week, with the Belgian stating that “limiting the number of gears would make the sport a lot safer”, especially in the descents. Froome agreed.
“That’s not to say that everyone is going to be riding around on junior gears but maybe in a year or two we won’t be seeing guys coming to sprint on a 60 chainring anymore, which is happening at some races,” said Froome.
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“The speeds needed to move a 60 chainring can be above 80 kph and you’re still pedalling. Maybe we need to put a limit on them. I’m not saying junior gears,” he reiterated, “but maybe 56 or 54 needs to be the limit, to keep the speeds down on the descents.”
Junior racers aren’t restricted in their gear choice anymore after the UCI removed the long-standing rule at the start of 2023. However, the regulation used to state that “the maximum gear ratio authorised is that which gives a distance covered per pedal revolution of 7.93 metres”, which limited junior riders to gearings such as 51/52×14 or 53×15.
Froome actually finds it a strange development that the sport has reached this possible breaking point after for so many years seeing teams, riders and manufacturers trying to work out ways to optimise and become more efficient and faster.
“It’s a bit of a crazy problem to have because, for so many years, we’ve been trying to figure out ways to go faster and faster every year,” Froome said.
“We’ve tried to get more aerodynamic, get more power through nutrition, through training, through coaching and actually, I think all of those things are starting to work now.”
On the surface, it may seem obvious to pinpoint the reason being riders simply taking more risks in the downhills in the fight for optimum position. But Froome thinks that the earlier entry into the pro ranks and biggest races from junior riders could be playing a big part.
“I think [riders aren’t] necessarily risking too much but the average age in the peloton is definitely changing as well,” he explained.
“We’re seeing an average age becoming much younger in the professional peloton which means the level of experience is actually much less as well. Maybe guys with less experience are going faster and taking more risks, that could also be a factor.”
Pogačar
It’s not just downhill that the speeds have vastly increased in the peloton but also on the climbs, with Froome finding it hard to compare his peak to the current peak of Tadej Pogačar, given the development of the sport since his heyday in the 2010s.
“It’s so hard to say [whether he would’ve beaten Pogačar] because obviously, so many things have changed in the sport, even in the last five years,” Froome told the Gazzetta.
“We’re seeing climbing times that are so much faster now than five years ago. I think my winning times on a lot of climbs from when I was maybe alone or with one or two other guys on a mountain, you’re getting 20 or 30 guys together in a group doing that same kind of speed.
“Everything has got faster, the bikes the material. We’re seeing times breaking records from 20, 30 years ago, last year especially, so it’s really hard to say.”
He did admit that what Pogačar is doing is a different case to his period of Grand Tour dominance, in which he won four Tours de France, two Vueltas a España and one Giro d’Italia, with the Slovenian dominating the sport’s entire calendar.
“Especially with the way Pogi is riding also the Classics, we’re not just talking about the Grand Tours, I mean, he’s really doing something quite unique, quite phenomenal, and something I couldn’t have imagined myself doing in the sport.”