FIRE AND FURY
Tour legend Hinault refuses to back down over Froome comments
TOUR DE FRANCE legend Bernard Hinault is refusing to wind in his brass neck after calling for riders to strike in protest at Chris Froome’s defence of his Yellow Jersey.
And Hinault said there was “no chance” of him clearing the air with Team Sky to explain his comments.
Five-times champion Hinault called on the peloton to dismount last month before Froome was cleared by a nine-month investigation into his adverse drug test for asthma medication salbutamol.
But as Sky’s big guns filtered ominously up the leaderboard here, 63-year-old Hinault (right) gave it the full Edith Piaf – Je ne regrette rien – when asked if his call for industrial action was a bit strong.
Hinault, whose triumph in the 1985 edition was the last time the French celebrated a home win in their big race, blustered: “Regret what I said? Never! Never! All I said was the truth of the matter, and that’s it.” Asked if he had made any contact with Team Sky to resolve their differences, Hinault snapped: “There’s no risk of that happening.” His original outburst was condemned by Sky as “uneducated” and “irresponsible” before his refusal to back down ahead of Le Tour’s sixth stage from Brest to Mur-de-Bretagne – which took the peloton past fields of fire in Brittany heartland. Dan Martin (right) took the honours on Brittany’s signature climb, a late burst ending his run of four second-placed finishes since his only previous stage win in 2013.
But Sky’s Geraint Thomas is only three seconds off the overall lead, while Froome moved up to 14th as his general classification rivals Tom Dumoulin (45sec) and Romain Bardet (23sec) lost vital ground on Britain’s four-time winner.
By Sunday night, the peloton will have crossed the whole of France along its widest diameter, from Brest on the Atlantic coast to the border with Belgium, in four days. And if Thomas prospers in the holdon-to-your-hats cobbled stage to Roubaix on Sunday, he could spend the first rest day in the Yellow Jersey. He said: “I could have got on the podium tonight if I had got in there at the finish, but Dan and the others were too strong.” Birmingham-born Irishman Martin, whose accent is definitely more James Joyce than Jasper Carrott, said: “It’s great to finally get a win after so many second places.”