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A relocated press room to accommodate dozens of media requests and a gymnasium heavily stocked by the international press: the excitement around Chris Froome and his team Sky took shape Wednesday, three days before the start of the Tour Vendée.
As usual, it's all smiles, cap screwed on the head and with the British phlegm that characterizes it , that Chris Froome, quadruple laureate of the Great Loop (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017), appeared Wednesday evening in Saint-Mars-la-Réorthe, for the press conference of his team before the Tour. [19659003] The hotel of his team, where the appointment was initially scheduled, was not large enough to accommodate everyone.
An attitude in contrast to the storm that rumbled strongly in the sky Vendee a few minutes before the arrival Sky runners. And who has especially agitated the pack in recent weeks and months, with the anti-doping procedure concerning Froome since its abnormal control of salbutamol during the Tour of Spain in September and closed without result Monday by the International Cycling Union (UCI). [19659003PummeledformorethanhalfanhourofquestionsessentiallyreturningtothecaseFroomeremainedimpbadiveappealingtothe12millionspectatorswhoareexpectedontheroadsoftheTour
"To the people who do not are not fans of Chris Froome and his team, I tell them: + Put a jersey of a team that you support and support the race in a positive way.Do not bring negative spirit! +. That would be my advice ", said the 33-year-old rider born in Kenya.
Concerns about his safety during the event emerged, while Froome was the target in the past of minor incidents with spectators, including in 2015 at course of et
So much so that the UCI President, the Frenchman David Lappartient, also spoke on Wednesday on the subject, calling on fans "to ensure that Chris Froome can evolve in a secure environment and serene ".
-" Biggest challenge of my life "-
The presentation of the teams Thursday in La-Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée), on the place Napoléon, will allow to have a first element of answer
"I love France, I love the Tour de France. This is the most beautiful race in the world, "added Froome, in an attempt at seduction operation, while its popularity rating with the French public is very contrasted.
To the question of whether this case brought prejudice to his image, Froome replied "Yes, of course", without wishing to point fingers at anyone.
His manager Dave Brailsford wanted his side relatively serene. "We have confidence in the French" , he said while speaking in French, while Froome also showed confidence, explaining that his Giro had gone well in May while the case was not settled yet.
Froome will try to win a fifth time the Great Loop, and win for the fourth time in a grand round after his coronations at the Tour de France and Spain 2017 and Italy in May.
"This race, it is going to be the biggest challenge of my life. I have never chained Giro and Tour de France. This is a totally new situation for me, "said Froome, who hopes to draw a line on" the worst nightmares "he has experienced in recent months.
" We're going to have two different races with a first half in a format like in the clbadics, then a second half in the mountains ", he predicted.
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