Group ready for challenge
Team Sky fields strong lineup behind Froome.
After being cleared of doping, Chris Froome is ready “to make history” in France.
Froome will be on the starting line of the Tour de France on Saturday in the western region of Vendee, aiming to join Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain in the elite club of five-time champions of cycling’s biggest race.
“The last twelve months have been the hardest but also the most incredible of my career,” Froome said on Tuesday in a statement submitted by Team Sky, a day after cycling authorities cleared him of any wrongdoing despite an abnormal doping test result.
Froome has raced all season under the cloud of a potential ban after a urine sample provided during his victory at the Spanish Vuelta in September showed a concentration of the asthma drug salbutamol that was twice the permitted level. The International Cycling Union ruled on Monday that his sample results did not constitute a breach to the anti-doping rules and closed all proceedings against the British rider.
The decision also meant Froome will be able to hold onto the Giro d’Italia trophy he won in May, which gave him three straight Grand Tour titles.
“I’ve never started the Tour de France after riding the Giro d’Italia, and it has meant a completely different approach to my season,” Froome said. “But I learned a lot from riding the Vuelta straight after the Tour de France last year, which has given me confidence coming into this race.”
Team Sky will again field a very strong team in support TOP CONTENDERS
■ Chris Froome
Age: 33
Froome is the undisputed favorite to triumph for a record-tying fifth time after being cleared of doping by the International Cycling Union on Monday. The Kenyan-born British rider is aiming to join the elite group of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as the only cyclists who have won cycling’s biggest race five times. Main assets: Confidence and experience of a proven champion, skills for the high mountains and time trials, and strong support from Team Sky.
Question marks: How is Froome’s stamina holding up after his crash-marred Giro victory and the doping case, which led to months of debate?
■ Nairo Quintana
Age: 28
A winner of the Vuelta and the Giro, Quintana has planned his season around winning the elusive Tour. The Colombian scaled back his competition schedule this year and did not compete in the Giro to give him fresher legs at the Tour after he finished a disappointing 12th last year, his worst showing in his five entries in the race. Quintana twice finished runner-up behind Froome in 2013 and 2015. He is aiming to become just the eighth rider to win all three of Froome, including Egan Bernal, Jonathan Castroviejo, Michal Kwiatkowski, Gianni Moscon, Wout Poels, Luke Rowe and Geraint Thomas.
“I want to make history with a fifth Tour de France win and fourth consecutive Grand Tour,” Froome said. “I am under no illusion about the challenge, but I am feeling ready and I couldn’t ask for a better team to support me.”
Aged 21, Bernal will make Grand Tours.
Main assets: An elite climber, on par with Froome when at his best, he will be backed by a very strong Movistar team that includes Mikel Landa and veteran Alejandro Valverde. Questions marks: Can he build a big enough lead before the individual time trial in the penultimate stage, given his weakness in races against the clock compared to Froome and other rivals? Or if he falters early, will Movistar shift its hopes to Landa or Valverde?
■ Tom Dumoulin
Age: 27
Dumoulin won the 2016 Giro and finished second behind Froome in the Italian race this year.
The Dutch rider won two stages of the 2016 Tour, and came agonizingly close to winning the Vuelta in 2015.
Main assets: A powerful rider who excels in time trials as well as rugged terrain.
Questions marks: Although he has improved in the mountains, will he be able to challenge Froome and the other world-class climbers when it matters? Will he get enough help from Team Sunweb to hang with powerhouses Sky and Movistar?
■ Vincenzo Nibali Age: 33
The only man to win the Tour besides Froome his Tour debut and will play a key role in helping Froome in the mountains alongside Poels and the experienced Castroviejo, who is also a strong climber. Kwiatkowski, a versatile former world champion, was impressive last year in helping Froome to a fourth title in France, while Thomas can also aim for the yellow jersey if Froome can’t live up to expectations. Moscon is also a Tour debutant who rode in support of Froome at the over the past five years, Nibali is also the only other former champion to ride this year. He joins Froome in that exclusive group of riders who have won the Tour, Vuelta and Giro in their careers. The Italian won the Milano-San Remo classic in March but skipped the Giro to prepare for what could be his last realistic opportunity to repeat his 2014 Tour win. Main assets: A champion’s pedigree on every kind of terrain, proven climbing credentials and excellent downhill skills. Question marks: Does he still have the strength to topple Froome? Can his Bahrain-Merida team give him the support he will surely need?
■ Romain Bardet
Age: 27
France’s hopes to end a 33-year-long wait for a homegrown Tour champion rest on Bardet. He has finished on the podium for the last two Tours and won stages in the race in each of the last three editions.
Main assets: Climbing skills and attacking attitude.
Question marks: Can he improve in the individual time trial after struggling last year? And how well will Bardet and his AG2R La Mondiale team hold up on the first team time trial at the Tour after a three-year absence? Vuelta last year.
“We go into the Tour with a lot of confidence. Chris is in great shape after the Giro, mentally and physically, and the whole team wants to build on the success we had in Italy,” Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford said. “Chris is already one of the greats of the sport. This is a chance for him to cement that reputation even further.”
The Tour starts Saturday from the island of Noirmoutier-en-l’Ile.