“He walks along with a lurch, unbalanced and awkward. If you are not prepared for how utterly changed his posture is off the bike, it comes as a shock.

When we are inside his suite, I tell him what I think. ‘Honestly? You walk like a drunk, Chris.’

‘I do, he says, ‘yeah.'”

Following his horrendous crash prior to last year’s Dauphiné, many doubted we’d see Froome back on a bike, let alone planning his eighth Grand Tour victory.

Ned Boulting finds Froome in characteristic fighting form, training hard in Gran Canaria prior to lockdown, preparing for the Tour de France – if and when it happens.

He’ll be ready, no doubt about it.

The Rouleur Longreads Podcast brings you selected long form articles from the magazine, especially recorded for Rouleur. Don’t stop what you’re doing – do it while listening to the world’s best cycling writing.

The fifth in this series is ‘Chris Froome and the Seventh Seal’ by Ned Boulting, from Rouleur 20.3. Subscribe today from just £7 to receive it.

Read by George Oliver.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.