Brailsford: Intimidation is ‘French thing’ and will not put Team Sky off
Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford believes the spitting, booing and physical intimidation to which his riders have been subjected at this Tour de France is a phenomenon particular to “French culture”, adding that unless French fans start to “respect top international teams” they may not come any more.
Speaking on the Tour’s final rest day yesterday ahead of the first of five Pyrenean stages, which will culminate in Saturday’s time trial, Brailsford said the treatment being meted out to his team was unacceptable. “I don’t think it’s going to stop,” he said. “We’re trying to remain dignified, we’re trying not to react and we’re trying not to get distracted by it. But I don’t think spitting and throwing things has a place in professional sport.”
One fan was arrested on Alpe d’huez for allegedly punching Chris Froome, while another pushed him as he rode past. And Team Sky’s riders and staff have been booed and spat at during the race, with Froome – whose longrunning salbutamol case was thrown out pre-tour – far from the only target. Brailsford said it seemed to be “a French thing”.
“It’s interesting that we’ve just done the Tour of Italy and Chris’s case was [still] open and the Italians were fantastic. It just seems to be a French thing.
“I’m not sure they’d have liked their football players being spat at in Russia. But it’s OK to spit on us, and on our staff. Emma Kennaugh [a junior press officer] is 21.
“She’s trying to drive around France and it’s intimidating for her. Personally I’d have a bit of an issue if that was going on in my country. We’ll just carry on.”
Relations are unlikely to be improved by the disqualification on Sunday of Gianni Moscon, one of
Sky’s eight riders, for punching a French rival. “It’s not going to calm people down,” conceded Brailsford, who said he had “some information” as to what had caused Moscon to lose his head but was “not going to dwell on it now”.
“The Tour de France is promoted as the world’s greatest annual sporting event and if you want the best international riders to come to your country then maybe treat them with a little more respect,” he concluded. “If you don’t want them to come, you can maybe have the Tour de France for French teams – that might work. But if you want intertension national teams to come then treat them with the same respect that you’d want your team to be treated when they go to Russia, the World Cup or wherever else.”
Asked why French fans did not abuse other top international teams, Brailsford replied: “But they’re not winning though, are they?”
He added: “We know we’re going to get abuse and we know that not a lot is going to be done about it. That’s part of winning. The more it happens the more determined you get. We don’t react to it. We’ll smile and try and win the race.”