In 2016, I took a seat at a quiet corner of a packed airline lounge at Dubai Airport. The flight was delayed so it was a wait of 3 over hours. There was already a chap bent over his PC in the seat across the table. It was small coffee table with 2 opposing seats. I could comfortably reach out and touch him so it was a very close. The chap looked malnourished. Though he was wearing long sleeved sports top with the collar up I immediately noticed the boney hands, wrist and some portion of his forearm. He had a baseball cap shielding his eyes. His shoulder bones were holding his sports top and not his shoulders. I genuinely thought he was sick.
When he raised his head, I realised it was Chris Froome and he had already picked up 2 TDFs. I then realised he was heading to Melbourne for the Herald Sun Tour which he subsequently won. It was first race of the cycling season for him. I respected his privacy but sight of him in that condition stopped me from saying hi.
In the 3 hours, he did not consume food, just water. I was truly shocked by his body condition. It was skin and bones. I immediately surfed the web to see if there are any reports of he being sick. None. I did read how he dropped significant amount of weight for his first campaign much more than any fit cyclist of his height.
When it was reported that he won the Herald Sun Tour 2 weeks later, I surmised that he was bloody fit but wondered how he sustained himself.
Over the years It became obvious the famous Sky train was not only drafting they were his food on demand train. His body unlike others it seems did not have reserves and he needed to be fed repeatedly. Domestiques ferrying food is part and parcel of multi stage team cycling but the online chatter did indicate that the Sky's well oiled train did much more for Froome food wise. I recall in later years Richie Porte's comment about the Froome "food train" while riding the Tour down under.
The crash did damage him but when he lost the Sky/Ineos contract I did wonder if there are any other well oiled train to meet his demands. I don't think anyone despite the severity of the crash thought his performance would come to the level that we see now.
He is still the highest paid for this season but I wonder if Israel Start Nation, his team understood his needs like Sky did?