EMBRUN, FRANCE – JULY 21: Christopher Froome of Great Britain riding for Team Sky in the leader’s jersey poses for a photo on the podium following stage 19 of the 2017 Le Tour de France, a 222.5km stage from Embrun to Salon-de-Provence on July 21, 2017 in Embrun, France. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Watch: Chris Froome speaking ‘n bietjie Afrikaans [video]

Ja, so we’re deffo claiming Froome as a Saffa.

by Alexis Haden

22-07-2017 14:07

in Cycling

Is he British? Is he Kenyan? Is he South African? Well, that all depends on how he’s doing or who you ask.

The Tour de France is almost over and it’s been one heck of a race. Richie Porte was involved in a sickening crash, Steve Cummings went into a ditch and Louis Meintjes has had the tour of his life.

All the pain and suffering will, hopefully, be worth the prize money the Tour de France riders earn.

But who is going to win it? At the time of writing, Chris Froome was sitting pretty (prior to setting off on Saturday’s individual time trial).

Read: Tour de France prize money – who earns what on the road to Paris?

But it’s not Froome’s riding ability that results in the most debate. It’s whether we can claim him as a South African or not.

Yeah, you know how Saffers are – we love claiming anyone who is successful and who has a connection to us. Now, while Froome was born in Kenya, he was educated in South Africa and started seriously riding right here in Mzansi.

So, of course we’re all over that bandwagon.

And Froome is South African.

— Simon Smith (@si_av_82) June 29, 2017

So, if you’re from the school that likes to claim Froome as one of South Africa’s own, here’s a little something to help you out… Froome speaking a little bit of Afrikaans.