Give Froome shot at Tour
BERNAL IN BRITON’S CORNER
CHRIS FROOME has received a huge boost in his bid to make the Tour de France start line after defending champion Egan Bernal said: “I want him in the team.”
Four-times Tour winner Froome’s place had been in doubt because of his modest form and Ineos chief Sir Dave Brailsford’s concern about the team’s leadership dynamics.
Bernal and 2018 Yellow Jersey winner Geraint Thomas are certain to be named in the eightman Ineos squad – but Brailsford has been wrestling with the dilemma of how to accommodate three champions in his line-up.
Froome trailed home 5min 23sec behind stage winner Wout van Aert, with Bernal third and Thomas in the leading bunch, on the opening day of the Criterium du Dauphine. But just before take-off, Bernal gave Froome his seal of approval, telling ITV: “Yeah, for sure [I want him in the team].
“He’s a rider who has a lot of experience. To have a seven-time Grand Tour winner in the team is something important so, yes.”
Froome crossed with team-mate Jonathan Castroviejo at the end of a 134-mile five-and-a-half-hour ride from Clermont Ferrand.
The next four stages are all summit finishes, which will provide evidence of Froome’s recovery from last year’s crash at the Dauphine, which left him in intensive care with multiple bone fractures. Since competitive racing resumed a fortnight ago, his level of performance has suggested he is more likely to be in the supporting cast, riding for Bernal and Thomas, than threatening to win a record-equalling fifth Tour de France crown. Van Aert’s impressive win added to the growing conviction that JumboVisma have assembled a train capable of ending the domination by Team Ineos (formerly Sky) of Le Tour since 2012.
The iconic race starts in Nice on August 29.