# froome is not british



## foyster1 (Jul 18, 2013)

Lets face it froome is only british when he's winning he's kenyan.


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## sir duke (Mar 24, 2006)

foyster1 said:


> Lets face it froome is only british when he's winning he's kenyan.


Obama is British???


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

Unlike some other countries, Britain confers citizenship on those born outside the country, when at least one of their parents is British. In Froome's case it is his father. Because of Britain's' colonial past, a great many British citizens have been born outside the UK. There is nothing to force such a person to declare themselves "British" it is a matter of choice, and Froome has made it clear:



> His performances in 2008 attracted the attention of British Cycling coach, Rod Ellingworth who believed Froome had potential. Froome said: "Although I was riding under the Kenyan flag I made it clear that I had always carried a British passport and felt British. It was then we talked about racing under the Union Flag, and we stayed in touch."[3


Chris Froome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

UK Border Agency | If you were born outside the United Kingdom or a qualifying territory


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

If his passport says he's a Brit, well then he's a Brit.

Sorry Kenya - ya should of treated that young man with more respect.


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

Sort of a Heinrich Hausler deal. I am Australian, no German. Wait...I didn't make your Olympic team...I am Australian.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

LostViking said:


> If his passport says he's a Brit, well then he's a Brit.
> 
> Sorry Kenya - ya should of treated that young man with more respect.


Kenya probably treated him great but his UK racing license gets him to all the races he wants to do now that he's an A+ talent.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

LostViking said:


> If his passport says he's a Brit, well then he's a Brit.
> 
> Sorry Kenya - ya should of treated that young man with more respect.


what specifically do you have in mind the Kenyans did?


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## albert owen (Jul 7, 2008)

Froome is Kenyan born, educated in South Africa and rides for Britain. He is British AND African.
As a fellow white African (brought up from age 5 in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe), who is British, I too have mixed allegiances.

When you are/were of the British diaspora the UK is/was always, to a lesser or greater extent, the "home country". African/West Indian/Indian/Pakistani etc., who have settled in Britain are British citizens, who also have mixed allegiances - but usually choose to compete for Britain in all sports.

Britain has a complicated history and Britain - as opposed to England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the nations of Commonwealth - confers a shared identity on all its peoples, regardless of ethnicity or narrow nationalism. It's a God Save the Queen type thingy


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## bluelena69 (Apr 19, 2005)

Indeed, the ins and outs of various colonial diaspora and how each power recognized its subjects and vice versa lie far outside of most folks' ability to comprehend nationhood.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

bikerjulio said:


> Unlike some other countries, Britain confers citizenship on those born outside the country, when at least one of their parents is British.


The United States, of course, is another country that deems such people natural-born citizens.


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## Used2Run (Sep 5, 2012)

Bernard Lagat, a multiple time world champion track runner, competed in his second Olympics for Kenya, shortly after getting his US citizenship and not telling anyone. He was born in Kenya but went to college here. He holds records for the US and still has one for Kenya. I won't root for him because of that. Switching nationalities to compete isn't very common but, isn't that rare. 

I don't blame Froome for at least not living in Kenya. I would be shocked if there were good places to ride a road bike.


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## PaxRomana (Jan 16, 2012)

When Froome gets busted, I wonder if the British will still claim him?


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## SauronHimself (Nov 21, 2012)

#inb4movetoPO


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## SFTifoso (Aug 17, 2011)

Who cares?


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## MattSoutherden (Jun 24, 2009)

Let's face it, he's only British when he's...

...holding British citizenship.


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

Heard a commentater - think it might have been Go-Go - recount how Froome had problems with a Sporting Federation over there (Kenya I think) - felt he was not getting supported - and that was one of the primary reasons he decided to invoke his right to UK citizenship. Sorry, nothing more specific than that.


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## MattSoutherden (Jun 24, 2009)

Froome, Nov 2008:

"I did have a Kenya passport, but resigned it two years ago to ride for Britain. I was born with a British passport; I got a Kenya passport when I was about 18 to represent Kenya in the Commonwealth Games – that was not the way to go."


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

MattSoutherden said:


> Froome, Nov 2008:
> 
> "I did have a Kenya passport, but resigned it two years ago to ride for Britain. I was born with a British passport; I got a Kenya passport when I was about 18 to represent Kenya in the Commonwealth Games – that was not the way to go."


Thanks for that. Where did you find the quote?


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

Interesting how these rules work.

Some countries demand you make a choice by 21 or thereabouts - others are fine with the dual-citizenship thing - as long as you pay taxes where you reside.

My daughter has both a US and a EU country passport - the US don't seem to care as long as she uses the same passport coming and going (homeland security thing I guess), but the EU country demands she make a choice when she comes of age. So, someone like that would have to choose at some point - but I suspect the various national sporting federations might have loop-holes and differences from the national laws which aren't as strict.

GB is in the EU and the EU is supposed to have uniform rules about such things - but there still seems to be a lot of grey areas, and not just in GB.


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

Both my wife and her kids have dual citizenship with an EU country (Finland). All 3 claimed their Finnish citizenship well after reaching 21 years of age, and Finland did not require giving up another country's citizenship as a condition. Perhaps it would be different if they were naturalized, but they're both Finnish and US citizens by birth. US by being born here, and Finnish by virtue of having at least one Finnish citizen as a parent at the time of birth anywhere in the world.

Then again, it's a country with a population of less than 6 million, so the considerations are different than in more populous countries.

With respect to Froome, it's likely that one or both parents were British subjects at the time of his birth, if he was "born" with a British passport.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

mpre53 said:


> Both my wife and her kids have dual citizenship with an EU country (Finland). All 3 claimed their Finnish citizenship well after reaching 21 years of age, and Finland did not require giving up another country's citizenship as a condition. Perhaps it would be different if they were naturalized, but they're both Finnish and US citizens by birth. US by being born here, and Finnish by virtue of having at least one Finnish citizen as a parent at the time of birth anywhere in the world.
> 
> Then again, it's a country with a population of less than 6 million, so the considerations are different than in more populous countries.
> 
> With respect to Froome, it's likely that one or both parents were British subjects at the time of his birth, if he was "born" with a British passport.


Yes in my first answer, I said that his father is British.

I am British living in Canada. My children were all born here to Canadian mothers. My children can have both UK and Canadian Passports. The UK passport notes my daughter as a UK Citizen, just the same as mine. There is no requirement to choose one or the other.


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## Ventruck (Mar 9, 2009)

What a jerk. Abandoned the country he first opened his eyes and took his first steps in.


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## PaxRomana (Jan 16, 2012)

albert owen said:


> Froome is Kenyan born, educated in South Africa and rides for Britain.


And lives in Monaco.


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## sir duke (Mar 24, 2006)

Ventruck said:


> What a jerk. Abandoned the country he first opened his eyes and took his first steps in.


Care to check your family tree, you might find some 'jerks' there.


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## MattSoutherden (Jun 24, 2009)

LostViking said:


> Thanks for that. Where did you find the quote?


www.cyclingnews.com - the world centre of cycling


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## skitorski (Dec 4, 2012)

foyster1 said:


> Lets face it froome is only british when he's winning he's kenyan.


Sorry, but on many levels that's poor English. :17:


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Ventruck said:


> What a jerk. Abandoned the country he first opened his eyes and took his first steps in.


Get over yourself


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## CliveDS (Oct 7, 2009)

What's important here is he learned to race in South Africa for Konica Minolta and then went onto another SA team Barloword. 

Go Bokke!!


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

MattSoutherden said:


> www.cyclingnews.com - the world centre of cycling


Here's a pretty telling quote from the same source:

"They have not been helpful at all, it has been really disappointing. I did a lot with Kenyan cycling and to have them to deny me the opportunity to ride in the Olympics that leaves a bit of sour taste in my mouth."


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

sir duke said:


> Care to check your family tree, you might find some 'jerks' there.


Except for the lone Cree 5 or 6 generations back, all of my ancestors are jerks, too. And her very distant ancestors probably crossed from Siberia when there was a land bridge to Alaska.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

Ventruck said:


> What a jerk. Abandoned the country he first opened his eyes and took his first steps in.


Us English are mostly descended from jerks. Icelandic jerks, Roman jerks, Viking jerks (I'm one of those), Saxon jerks, and let's not forget French jerks.

So he's in good company.


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