Froome guns for Tour, Vuelta double bid

The Vuelta is where everything started for Chris Froome and it could well be where he moves closer to the greatest grand tour riders as the Tour de France champion attempts a unique double in the modern era. Only Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil (1963) and Bernard Hinault (1973) have achieved that feat, but the Spanish race was then held in April-May.Froome, instead, will have only had 25 days to rest before Saturday’s Grand Depart in Nimes, France. “I’ve got the opportunity and I’m certainly going to go for it,” Froome said. “The Vuelta is a race I love — it’s vicious but it’s three weeks that I enjoy.”Froome has had his share of disappointment in the Vuelta, losing by 13 seconds to Spain’s Juan Jose Cobo in 2011, the year he came to prominence, before settling again for second in 2014 and 2016. Last year, the Team Sky rider effectively lost his chances after being trapped behind following an unexpected attack in a downhill by Alberto Contador, who will take part in his last race before heading into retirement.The Spaniard, who won the last of his seven grand tour titles at the 2015 Giro d’Italia, is not among the top favourites after finishing ninth overall in the Tour, where Froome prevailed for the fourth time. He will see some familiar faces in Nimes as Italian Fabio Aru, fellow Briton Simon Yates and Frenchman Romain Bardet — third overall in Paris — also embark on the three-week journey.The race starts with a team time trial in Nimes and there will only be one solo effort against the clock but Froome should get the chance to gain time on his rivals in the 42-km flat individual time trial — a discipline in which he usually excels. One of his rivals will be Italian Vincenzo Nibali, while Briton Adam Yates is the only top contender who has not taken part in the Tour de France and should arrive fresher.“I will be in perfect shape for the Vuelta,” said Nibali, who with Contador is one of six riders with titles in all three grand tours. Should it be a tight race, it might be decided on the penultimate day at the top of the Angliru mountain road, known as one of the hardest climbs in cycling. The Vuelta will be without title holder Nairo Quintana as the Colombian is worn out after trying — and failing — to win the Giro/Tour double. German sprinter Kittel switches to Katusha-AlpecinSprint star Marcel Kittel has quit Belgium’s Team Quick Step-Floors to link up with Germany’s world time-trial champion Tony Martin at Swiss outfit Katusha-Alpecin, it was announced yesterday.Kittel, 29, had an outstanding 2017 Tour de France, winning five stages last month and holding the sprinters’ green jersey for 12 days before being forced to withdraw from the race after a crash on the 17th stage in the Alps.The German has signed a two-year deal with Katusha. “I am looking forward to racing with the team and especially with Tony and some of the other German riders,” said Kittel.He also thanked his previous employers for helping him recover from a virus that plagued him in 2015 and saw him miss that year’s Tour de France due to poor form. “I got some great support over the last two years and was able to get back to my previous best after my horror year in 2015,” he added.Kittel had won four stages at the Tour in each of 2013 and 2014 but after missing the 2015 edition could win only one last year. His five wins this year made him the most successful German stage winner in the world’s most prestigious bike race. Kittel will be linking up with Martin again after the pair raced together for the German-based Energie Team 10 years ago as juniors, while they also spent last season together at Quick Step.