Chris Froome is only the third man to complete the double after managing to hold his form for 12 weeks after coming into the Tour slightly undercooked
As Chris Froome flew south from Asturias to Madrid for a final, ceremonial Vuelta stage in the Spanish capital on Sunday morning, Bernard Hinault was standing with his gun on the edge of a maize field in Brittany, waiting for wild boar to emerge from cover. The last man to win the double of Tour of Spain and Tour de France in the same year, back in 1978, the “Badger” said he believes that Froome, who was set to emulate him after 39 years, should go on next year to attempt a grand slam of all three major Tours in 12 months by tackling the Giro d’Italia before going on to tilt for a fifth Tour de France title.
“He should try that,” said Hinault. “He has proved that you can win the Tour and the Vuelta in the same year, so why not the Giro? What he has managed in Spain is a great thing because the general view was that it was not possible to win either the Giro and Tour or the Tour and Vuelta in the modern era. He wasn’t as dominant as usual in the Tour but he’s really rediscovered his true capacity at the Vuelta, in spite of having one or two difficult days.”
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