DON’T INSULT US!
Cycling boss hits back at Brailsford
Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford was accused of ‘ insulting the French people’ as his feud with UCI chief David Lappartient went up a notch yesterday.
Speaking on French television, Lappartient advised Brailsford to follow the lead of his star rider by speaking with more humility. ‘ He should listen to Chris Froome, who said he loves France and the French people,’ said the head of cycling’s governing body.
The row erupted over Lappartient’s suggestion that Froome had been cleared of any wrongdoing in his salbutamol case by the World anti-Doping agency because of Team Sky’s wealth.
Brailsford responded that Lappartient, who was only elected UCI president last year, did not yet understand the responsibilities that go with his role. ‘He has still got the local French mayor kind of mentality,’ said Brailsford.
That brought an angry rebuke from Lappartient yesterday. ‘When you insult a French mayor, you insult all of France’s 35,000 mayors and you also insult the French people,’ he said.
‘Brailsford has to remember it’s the French mayors who invite the Tour de France into their towns and be respectful of that.’
Sitting alongside Lappartient, French Tour legend Thomas Voeckler said Brailsford was ‘completely out of order’.
On the road, Colombia’s Fernando Gaviria bagged his second sprint victory in the first four days of the Tour, countering an attack from andre Greipel, then holding off a late charge from monday’s winner Peter Sagan.
Froome and race leader Greg van avermaet finished safely in the pack despite a big crash five kilometres from the finish that saw several riders hit the deck.
‘It wasn’t a straightforward stage,’ said Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas, who remains in third place overall, three seconds behind Van avermaet. ‘It was a really stressful stage, but it’s nice to get through unscathed.’
Froome said the crash was ‘just another reminder of why everyone wants to be up at the front on sprint stages’.
There was more disappointment for Britain’s mark Cavendish, who has yet to add this year to his 30 Tour stage wins.
His Dimension Data team looked well placed but they hit the front too soon and Cavendish could not respond as his rivals swarmed past.