FROOME’S JUST TWO GOOD FOR THE REST
CHRIS FROOME stood triumphantly on the podium as the first Briton to win the Tour de France twice last night and vowed never to ‘dishonour’ the yellow jersey. Froome emerged victorious from a mesmerising duel in the mountains with Colombian Nairo Quintana against a backdrop of vile abuse from spectators and veiled accusations of doping after scientists claimed his power data was suspicious. Froome’s boss at Team Sky, Sir Dave Brailsford, had a message for the accusers last night, telling them their attempts to expose his rider as a drugs cheat were as futile as searching for the Loch Ness Monster. An emotional Froome said: ‘The Maillot Jaune is very special. I understand its history, good and bad, and I will always respect it, never dishonour it and I’ll always be proud to have won it.’ Froome paid tribute to his Sky teammates after finishing a stage almost marred by a protester but won by the
German sprinter Andre Greipel. Mark Cavendish was sixth in the final sprint along the Champs-Elysees having fallen ill yesterday morning. On the Sky team bus afterwards, the riders could be heard singing You’ll Never
Walk Alone. ‘My utmost respect and gratitude: this is your yellow jersey as much as it is mine,’ Froome told his colleagues before thanking Brailsford and the Sky staff and finishing with a tribute to his pregnant wife. ‘Thank you to my wife Michelle,’ he said. ‘Your love and support are my strength and motivation. I can’t wait for this next chapter of our lives to begin together with a baby boy.’ Suggestions that he might be cheating dogged Froome throughout the three-week race in this era of post-Lance Armstrong suspicion. It has infuriated Brailsford, who continues to insist the British team have now won three of the last four Tours with their professionalism and attention to detail rather than the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Asked what he would say to the sports physiologists who went on French television to question Froome’s performances, Brailsford said: ‘I’d tell them the Loch Ness Monster doesn’t actually exist. ‘They’re sitting on the side in a tent looking for it every day. It doesn’t exist.’ Froome, who had to change bikes in the closing kilometres of yesterday’s final stage after a McDonald’s bag became caught in his gearing, said he would remain outspoken in calling for a clean, professional peloton; something he has done since first winning the Tour in 2013. ‘It’s pretty straightforward: In this day and age I feel someone needs to speak up for the cyclists of 2015 and of course I’m happy to do that,’ he said. ‘I’m in this position now. Someone’s got to take a stand, it’s time.’ To the accusations levelled against him, he said: ‘I’m not super human like they make out. There are certainly guys who can climb faster than me. I’d say if they want to scrutinise my performances, it’s only fair they scrutinise everyone on the same level.’ Make Froome a knight —
Full story on page 11