Seychellois cyclists meet three-time Tour de France champion Froome |12 October 2016

How would you react if you happen to meet your idol or the champion of the sport you practice?

Seychellois cyclists Edrick Roucou, Francis Louis and Fadi Confiance met British rider Chris Froome – the three-time Tour de France winner – this week on the beach at the Maia Luxury Resort & Spa.

Roucou described his meeting with the professional rider as “an unbelievable and amazing experience”.

“Chris is a big star and we did not want to disturb him while he is on holiday here. We were lucky to meet him and he told us how he prepares for the Tour de France,” Roucou told Sports NATION.

The 20-year-old explained that he shared with Froome how local cyclists train after their normal working hours and added that the Tour de France champion was “amazed” and told them that “it must be tough to be a rider in Seychelles as the island is very hilly”.

He even told us that his target for next year is to win both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España (in Spain).

Roucou added that Froome told him he has also visited Praslin and La Digue.

For Francis Louis, this was not his first meeting with Froome as they have crossed swords on the roads during the Tour de Maurice (2006, overall winner), World B Championship in Cape Town South Africa (in 2007, second to China's Haijun Ma in the 26.8-kilometre-long individual time trial), All-Africa Games in Algeria (in 2007, road race bronze medallist) and Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India (in 2010, fifth in the 40km individual time trial).

“We have always had a good rapport, but I was happy to meet him and congratulate him on his recent Tour de France wins. He struggled like us when he was an amateur and I have seen the progress he has made over the years as we raced alongside each other,” said Louis who has not been practicing cycling seriously of late.

Louis added that Froome, who started his cycling career in Kenya, is convinced that Africa has very good cyclists who can perform better than their European colleagues, but because they do not get the same opportunities and facilities it is difficult for them to progress.

Sharing his joy with Sports NATION after meeting the pro, Fadi Confiance said: “I received a call from Francis (Louis) who told me we were going to meet someone at Maia. Upon arriving there I saw someone like Chris and I asked Francis ‘Isn’t this Chris Froome?’ and he replied ‘Yes, it’s him we are here to meet’. I just can’t describe how I felt upon meeting Chris. He is the number one rider in the world and it’s great to meet him in Seychelles,” said 19-year-old Confiance who has been competing for five years now.

All attempts by Sports NATION to talk to Froome, who had gone hiking to Anse Major yesterday morning, were fruitless.

Born in Kenya on May 20, 1985 and competed for the east African country until 2008, 31-year-old British rider Froome has been an inspiration to many young African cyclists with ambitions of emulating their hero.

He is now a British professional road racing cyclist for UCI (Union Cycliste International) ProTeam Team Sky and is a three-time winner of the Tour de France (2013, 2015 and 2016), and three-time runner-up in the Vuelta a España. He dedicated his 2013 Tour de France win to his mother, who died of cancer five weeks before his Tour debut in 2008.

He has since 2008 ridden under a British licence on the basis that both his parents are British.

It was in 2007, at the age of 22, that Froome turned professional with Team Konica Minolta. To further his career, he moved to Europe, joining team Barloworld and in 2010 he moved to Team Sky and has become one of the team's key cyclists.

His breakthrough as a Grand Tour contender came during the 2011 Vuelta a España where he finished second overall.

Married to Michelle Cound, a South African of Welsh origin, Froome is father to a son named Kellan. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to cycling.

G. G.