Froome rides to defence of new sponsor

Chris Froome insisted it does matter to him which company’s name he wears on his chest but sees nothing wrong in new sponsor Ineos.

The cyclists formerly known as Team Sky will tackle the Tour de Yorkshire in their new dark red Team Ineos kit this week, and are braced for environmental protesters to target them along the way.

Friends of the Earth yesterday issued an open letter to team principal Sir Dave Brailsford, accusing chemical multinational Ineos of using sport to “greenwash” its name given its interests in fracking and its status as a large-scale producer of plastic.

“Of course it matters, within reason,” four-time Tour de France winner Froome said when asked about the name on his jersey. “It matters who the company is, sure.”

Froome sat with Brailsford and Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, his new paymaster, at yesterday’s launch in the Yorkshire Dales as the latter defended his company’s record on environmental issues.

“I understand the [perception] but I was quite happy to be here today to hear what Jim has to say about those issues,” said Froome. “As a company I think they are genuinely doing something to try to tackle a lot of those environmental issues.”