Cycling star Chris Froome, who is recovering from recent crash injury, up against 3 promising contenders in Tour de France

Chris Froome is set to compete against three other promising contenders this year on Tour De France. The race will start this Saturday. Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali, 2 time winner Alberto Contador, and 2014 Giro d’Italia champion Nairo Quintana will be competing against him.

Talking about the race, Froome said “The way the Tour is structured this year, it is really going to be an epic battle between the big rivals”. Additionally, talking about his contenders, He said, “Probably the biggest battle we’ve seen for years in the Tour de France. It’s really exciting.”

That first week really is going to be crucial, the first nine days actually until we get up in the mountains on stage 10,” Said Froome. “In my mind, it’s almost as if each one of these nine stages is like a classic race in its own right.”

“There is a lot less pressure on my shoulders, (I’m) a lot more relaxed not coming as the defending champion”, He added.

This year is expected to be a little difficult from Froom, who was involved in a crash while cycling earlier this year. The accident did not have any long term effects but Froome did sustain several injuries. Just months after the injury, Froome announced that he and his wife, Michelle Cound were expecting their first child.

Froome met Welsh born South African Michelle Cound in 2009. After dating for a while, they moved together in 2011. In March, 2013 the couple got engaged. Froome and Cound finally got married in November 14, 2014.

Froome started professional cycling at an early age of 22. After doing smaller races, Froome finally got his breakthrough in 2011, after finishing top 15 in Tour de Romandie. Froome continued cycling in 2012, despite severe illness. He also managed to bag a bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics in which Froome played for Team GB. Froome finally got his first big win in 2013, after he was placed first in Tour de France. He dedicated this win to his mother, who passed away of cancer in 2008. In 2014, Froome was placed first over all in Tour of Oman and Tour de Romandie. He was also placed second in Vuelta a España. He released his autobiography, The Climb the same year.

Standing at a height of 1.86m and a weight of 69kg, Froome has managed to stay one of the most relevant cyclists of the recent years. Froome’s annual salary is estimated at a whopping $1.8 million.

Froome is currently practicing for Tour de France. He managed a win during the rehearsals and we hope he wins the race too. Froome shares pictures of the rehearsal quite often on his Twitter account.