FROOME & GLOOM
He and Geraint must step up to seal Tour spots
CHRIS FROOME and Geraint Thomas head for the Tour de France with Team Ineos sporting director warning that their dress rehearsal was “not good enough”.
Both former Yellow Jersey winners are still expected to make the cut when Ineos announce their eight-man squad for Le Tour, which starts on August 29, but their form at the warm-up Criterium du Dauphine was a big worry.
At the 2019 Dauphine, Froome suffered multiple broken bones, lifethreatening injuries and needed six hours of surgery after a 40mph crash. On Sunday, the four-time Tour champion came home safely but was 86 minutes behind the winner Daniel Martinez.
Thomas, who rode into Welsh sporting legend as leader of the peloton in Paris two years ago, was 53 minutes adrift of Martinez.
Adam Yates, right, who finished 17th in the General Classification, was the highest-placed Briton – and he had been suffering from illness.
Ineos, and forerunner Team Sky, have won seven of the past eight Tour de France races and cannot be written off ahead of the Grand Depart in Nice.
But when sporting director Gabriel Rasch publicly expressed disappointment with Thomas and Froome’s form at the weekend, it was a rare warning shot for two kings of the road. Before the final stage, Rasch said of Froome: “I think definitely he needs to step up. The same with G – he also needs to step up. They have not been good enough here.
“But they have prepared very well. They have done all they can, so we’re hoping that this racing will help. “I think they are continuing to progress a little bit, step by step. They are not there yet but I’m optimistic they will be a step above this level by the time we get to Nice.”
Ineos’ planning was further disrupted when reigning Tour champion Egan Bernal pulled out of the Dauphine as a precaution with a minor back injury.
Principal Sir Dave Brailsford hopes his big guns will hit their peak going into the third week of the Tour, which includes three mountain stages and a potentially decisive 22-mile time trial.
A fifth Yellow Jersey for Froome would equal the Tour record but given the severity of his injuries last year, it would be one of his greatest feats just to make the start line.