Chris Froome

Froome is married to Michelle Cound, a Welsh-born South African. The two met in South Africa and then moved to Monaco before getting married in November 2014.

Chris Froome was born on May 20, 1985, in Nairobi, Kenya. His father was a professional hockey player representing Britain and his mother's family had emigrated from England to run a crop farm in Kenya.

At the age of 13 his mother took him to participate in his first bike race, which was a charity event that he won. At that race he met David Kinjah, Kenya's most prominent cyclist, who became Froome's mentor and training partner.

At the age of 14 he went to South Africa to study at ‘St John's College’ in Johannesburg, and later studied economics at the ‘University of Johannesburg’. While in South Africa he began participating in road cycling and specialized in climbing.

In 2007, Froome abandoned his degree in economics to become a professional bike racer with the South African team, Konica Minolta. He rode his first single race in May, winning stage five of the ‘Giro delle Regioni’, and competed in multiple time trials and circuits throughout the year.

After his breakaway debut performance, in 2008 he met South African cyclist Robbie Hunter, who introduced him to the ‘UCI Continental team’, Barloworld. He signed with them for their upcoming season and became the first Kenyan participant in the ‘Tour de France’ with the Barloworld squad, finishing 84th overall and 11th among the young rider classification.

During this time Froome caught the eye of British Cycling coach, Rod Ellingworth, and the two discussed the possibility of Froome representing Britain.

In March of 2009 Froome claimed his first professional win on the second stage of the ‘Giro del Capo’ in Durbanville, South Africa, finishing four minutes ahead of the competition. In September of that year it was announced that he would join the British cycling team, ‘Team Sky’, for their upcoming season.

Froome rode the 2010 season with ‘Team Sky’, and finished second in the national time trial championships that year. He raced the ‘Giro d'Italia’ for ‘Team Sky’ but was unable to finish the race because of a knee injury.

In 2013 Froome began his season with his first stage race win, and went on to score two more that year. Together with Bradley Wiggins he was the first British racer to stand on the ‘Tour de France’ podium.