Froome backs Brailsford…but for past glories
NO RINGING ENDORSEMENT FOR SKY BOSS
CHRIS FROOME issued a public apology on behalf of Team Sky yesterday and even expressed some support for Sir Dave Brailsford.
But if the Tour de France champion’s employers were hoping he would follow other riders in declaring Brailsford the right man to lead the crisishit cycling team, they must have been disappointed.
Sky’s own sports news channel did their best to put a positive spin on the story when Froome issued his statement. ‘Chris Froome backs Sir Dave,’ declared the website, and to some extent he did. he thanked Brailsford for everything he has done for him in the past.
It was not, however, the ringing endorsement Brailsford might have wanted when it was only last week that a story emerged that some riders thought it might be best for their team principal to step down over the ongoing medical exemption and Jiffy bag storm.
Team Sky went into overdrive, contacting all 28 riders with a request to publicly back the boss. A joint statement was planned and 18 of the 28 cyclists tweeted their support.
But the stunt proved a total PR disaster because the lead rider did not want to play ball. There was no tweet of support from Froome, only pictures of him enjoying dinner and visiting a zoo in South Africa.
A statement from Froome finally came yesterday and, while it went some way to easing the sense of embarrassment, the star man stopped short of declaring Brailsford the right man for the future.
‘It disappoints me hugely to see the way in which Team Sky has been portrayed by the media recently,’ he wrote. ‘It does not reflect the support crew and the riders that I see around me.
‘At the same time, I completely understand why people feel let down by the way in which the situation has been handled, and going forward we need to do better. I would like to apologise for this on behalf of myself and the other riders of Team Sky who feel passionately about our sport and winning clean.
‘ With respect to Dave Brailsford, he has created one of the best sports teams in the world. Without Dave B, there is no Team Sky.
‘ he has supported me throughout the last seven years of my career and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunities and the experiences I’ve had. By his own admission, mistakes have been made, but protocols have been put in place to ensure those mistakes will not be made again.
‘I know it will take time for faith to be restored, but I will do my utmost to ensure that happens, along with everyone else at Team Sky.’