Sagan surges to second stage win
as ‘a bit of banter’. Rowe had earlier denied being the rider seen grabbing an A4-sized s i g n wh i c h r e a d “S k y – G o Home” as he headed to sign on b efore stage five in Lorient. But he came clean afterwards, insisting the incident was ‘playful’.
“He had a sign that said ‘Sky – Go Home’ and then when I went to sign on I rode past him, he was kind of laughing about it, I was laughing about it, he’s stood next to his son in a Team Sky jersey, and I grabbed it off him,” Rowe said.
“It wasn’t meant to be malicious or anything. I don’t think he was too bothered. After we went back and gave the kids a b ottle each. It was a lighthearted bit of fun.”
Rowe said he did not apologise to the man when he went back with the bottles. “I don’t think I have to be sorry for any- thing, do I?” he said. “It was no big deal, just a bit of banter.”
The man, local resident Didier Bregardes, told repor ters his sign was intended as a protest against the way Sky had handled the Salbutamol case involving Froome, following the test he returned with high levels of the asthma drug during La Vuelta last year.
That investigation – which closed last week with Froome cleared of wrong-doing – took place in the public gaze foll ow i n g a l e a k , a n d Fr o o me angered fans by choosing to continue to race as it rumbled on, winning the Giro d’italia in May to hold all three Grand Tour crowns at once.
“When Froome was caught in the act at the Vuelta, the UCI and WADA didn’t react,” Bregardes said. “I’ve nothing against Froome or the riders, but it’s the way the manager of Sky, [Sir Dave] Brailsford, dealt with it.”
On the incident, Team Sky chief Sir Dave Brailsford said: “To a large extent it feels like a pantomime, but as the guy responsible for all the riders and our staff I still have to take it very seriously. Does this pant o mi me h ave a d a r ke r s i d e to it? That’s a fair comment because a lot of people chuckle and join in, but there are definitely people out there for whom this is not pantomime in the humorous context.”