British cyclists take over Tour de France
ANDORRA LA VELLA, ANDORRA Chris Froome has the yellow jersey, Mark Cavendish has won three sprint stages, and Adam Yates sits second in the overall standings. It has been a very successful start to the Tour de France for British cyclists.
“It’s definitely not a fluke,” Froome said on Monday as the peloton enjoyed its first rest day, following nine stages which saw Froome’s Team Sky stamping its authority on the race.
With Froome’s victory at Bagneres-de-Luchon and Steve Cummings’ solo breakaway to the Lac de Payolle, it’s not exaggerating to say that British riders have taken over the Tour this summer. They have won five out of nine stages so far, and can reasonably hope for a second 1-2 in the space of four years on the Champs-Élysées.
No other nation has won more than one stage this year.
“You look at how far British cycling has come during the last few years,” said Froome, who was runner-up to countryman Bradley Wiggins in 2012 then won the race in 2013 and 2015. “It’s not just by chance. There has been a plan, there have been structures, riders of talent.”
Competing in only his second Tour, the 23-year-old Yates is leading the next generation of British cyclists. Yates holds the white jersey for best young rider and is just 16 seconds behind Froome overall. After winning the Tour of Turkey in 2014, and the San Sebastian single-day classic last year, he is already being tipped as a future winner of a major Tour.
Yates joined the Orica squad with that goal in mind, but said he would focus on stage wins this year while also trying to keep up with Froome and Nairo Quintana.
The strategy has been working well so far, and he’s seven seconds ahead of Quintana, the Colombian climber who is in fourth place.
“They already have shown themselves as contenders,” Froome said of Yates and Martin. “If they can do what they’ve done in the first half, then they’ll be on the podium come Paris. But three weeks is a long time.”
The other big satisfaction of the week for British cycling has been Cavendish. At 31, the “Manx Missile” has rediscovered his instinct and burst of speed courtesy of the hard track training he put himself through as part of his preparations for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where he will be competing in the omnium.