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La Roche-sur-Yon – Four-time Laureate Chris Froome was booed by the crowd who gathered for the presentation of the Tour de France in a small town West of France Thursday night. In the same stoic manner, Froome had faced a crowded press conference the day before the champion held his nerves in front of the crowd just three days after being allowed to take a suspicious doping test last September that did not go unnoticed. resulted in nothing. reputation.
Some sections of the crowd applauded and the boos were more like the way out of school whistling a mean pantomime.
When the Team Sky round of the 22 teams was presented, a defiant Froome told the crowd: "We are all going out for a fifth win", drawing some applause.
The teams all made a short circuit of the town of La Roche-sur-Yon and incidents were observed on the 1 km circuit where spectators shouted insults at the 33-year-old British born in Kenya.
The Tour de France starts Saturday in Noirmoutier-en-Isle for a 21-day epic around France where Froome is the favorite to win.
Froome expressed great relief Wednesday during his first major meeting with the press since he was allowed to take part in the race just days after being cleared by the governing body of cycling , the UCI.
The organizers of the ASO Tour had banned Froome from the race but the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Cycling Union have delivered a long-awaited verdict on a September 2017 British test that cleared its name .
"Now I just want to pull a line in the sand and move on," said Froome, who won the Giro d'Italia in May.
"My goal is to win and go for a double Tour-Giro."
The head of the UCI, David Lappartient, called on the public to treat Froome with fairness and respect.
The French authorities have also rallied behind the British and about 30,000 security forces will be deployed over the three weeks to maintain order.
BMC Manager Oschowiscz was mocked by the idea that there was a threat to Froome's safety as a result of fears for the personal safety of Sky Chief.
"The Tour is hard and dangerous in itself," he said.
"It's hard to control everyone in the hills."
"But the peloton will protect him, the police will protect him and the (organizers of the Tour) ASO will protect him", insisted the veteran of the 20 races of the Tour de France.
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