Froome plea for peace as cauldron of hate awaits
PERHAPS Chris Froome truly believed there would be no hostility this Tour de France. ‘You would think if there were any problems we would have seen that at the Giro [d’Italia], but there weren’t any,’ he said when asked about security fears.
Perhaps he knew full well the reaction would be frosty but was blocking it out as he prepares to go after a record-equalling fifth yellow jersey.
Whatever the Briton’s reasons for talking down concerns about how he might be treated by the French crowds, if the booing and jeering that was aimed at him at the official team presentation was any indication, then Froome could face a cauldron of hate as he tackles more than 3,000km of French roads.
So, Team Sky’s PR machine went even further into overdrive than it had done earlier this week, when the race organisers tried to block Froome from riding and a day later when the UCI cleared him of doping after a nine-month investigation.
The result was that yesterday morning Le Monde’s website carried a letter pleading for peace, penned by a certain Mr C Froome.
He explained how a sample he gave at last year’s Vuelta a Espana far exceeded the permitted level of the asthma drug Salbutamol and finished by writing: ‘I meant it when I stood on the podium on the Champs Elysees and said I would never dishonour the yellow jersey and my results would stand the test of time.
‘I won’t — and they will. I love this sport. I am passionate about the Tour. To win any race based on a lie would for me be a personal defeat. I could never let that happen.
‘I can’t wait to compete again on cycling’s most beautiful stage in front of its most passionate fans.’
The UCI issued a further statement to ‘reassure the public that its decision was justified’ and to put an end to cyclists being ‘negatively affected by the debate’.
Froome had a cup of urine thrown at him during the 2015 Tour and if things turn ugly, particularly in the mountains where the riders are at their most vulnerable, it may not just be him who gets caught up in it. DAN Martin is refusing to set himself specific targets as he readies another assault on the Tour’s general classification. Martin raced to sixth overall in last year’s Tour despite suffering two broken vertebrae in his back in a stage-nine crash which also cost him considerable time.
That obviously begs the question what the UAE Team Emirates rider could achieve if he can make it to Paris without incident. ‘I don’t feel the need to put a number on it,’ he said.
Martin left Quick-Step Floors to join the Emirates squad in the winter, but has found a similar set-up with the team one of the few to come to the Tour with split ambitions. He will target the GC and Alexander Kristoff the sprints.
‘It’s great, I’ve got this guy to hide behind on the flat stages,’ he said as he sat next to Kristoff. ‘I love having that reason to be in the race every day. Every day we’ve got a focus on the bus. It’s nice to have that focus on every stage.’