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It is said that there is no bad publicity, but the Tour de France organizers, Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), would like to postpone. Last Sunday, the French newspaper Le Monde reported that these organizers would block Chris Froome from the race. Their reasoning? The damage to the image of the Tour that his participation could bring.
A day later, ASO was forced to return to this position when Froome, four-time winner of the race, was spectacularly and unexpectedly cleared by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Authority. leader of cycling, the UCI.
All kerfuffle comes from a urine sample that he provided last September to win the Vuelta a España. The badysis revealed Salbutamol anti-asthma levels that were well above the maximum allowed. The case has been booming for months, but earlier this week, WADA decided to drop the case.
Since then, the agency and the UCI are under pressure to issue the reasoned decision, a complete breakdown of the decision that would clarify the reasons for which the rider was laundered. Whether this happens or not remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Froome will line up on the Tour de France on Saturday aiming to join the former record holders of the event.
Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain each won five editions of the race; Froome triumphed in 2013, 2015, 2016 and again last year, and has the opportunity to join the other four he's wearing yellow in Paris on July 29th.
This is a huge motivation, but so is another opportunity: if Froome were to triumph, he would extend the most successful sequence of his career. He took the Tour of last year and the Vuelta a España 2017; This year, he won the Giro d'Italia
. The success of this year will mark the victory in four consecutive Great Tours. The only other driver to do this was Merckx in 1972/1973.
The Opponents
Froome's series of results is likely to intimidate some of his opponents, but even so, the most optimistic of them can draw encouragement. After all, sustained success at this level is extraordinarily rare. In 1998, Marco Pantani won both the Giro and the Tour in the same season; since then, many have tried and failed to double.
An example of this can be seen with Nairo Quintana, a talented Colombian climber considered one of the leading contenders this year. He gave everything for the success of the Giro in 2017, but he finished 31 seconds behind Tom Dumoulin, taking second place. He continued to participate in the Tour, but that proved to be a lot less successful than his previous participations, scoring only 12th.
Quintana later admitted that trying success in both races was too difficult. This conclusion is synchronized with what many others have said in recent years. Instead this year, he focused everything on the Tour de France. He has steadily progressed to a peak in July, and if this approach actually works he could improve the overall second place he's got in 2013 and 2015.
Meanwhile, Froome has to wait and see if the same tiredness will reach after Italian event.
Aside from Quintana, the Movistar team also includes two other contenders in the overall standings: Mikel Landa, who finished fourth last year despite the support of Froome, and the 2015 podium-finisher Alejandro Valverde . Providing a personal ambition does not take over the trio, if the cooperation outweighs the opportunism, this hydra-type approach could pay off.
Challenges
This year's course totals 3,351 km and will present pilots with a series of challenges. These include a number of flat preliminary stages that are suitable for sprinters, but which also present a risk of division due to high winds, as well as a time trial in team of 35.5 km on the third day. Other tests will be the finishing up of Mûr de Bretagne on stage Six plus a Nine stadium in Roubaix heavy pavement.
After which the great mountains will recover, including the summits at La Rosière-Montvalezan on the 11th stage, at the famous climb of Alpe d'Huez at the 12th stage and at the summit of the Col de Portet at the 17th stage. is a mere 65 km in length and will begin with the positioning of the riders style grid, setting up for a short, strong and very intense battle.
Other mountain stages end with high-speed runs, thus examining the downhill skills of runners and perhaps rewarding those who are willing to take risks. Other key moments will be the inclusion of gravel roads on stage 10 and a 31km time trial on the penultimate day.
This race against the clock should suit Froome, but only if it is still strong after his participation in the Giro d'Italia. With the exception of Dumoulin, who also did the Giro, Froome's rivals should all have the benefit of freshness. They hope that they will be able to exploit it to create a buffer early on and ensure that Froome 's bid for a fifth victory on the Tour is short.
The organizers too may wish that. Although Froome was licensed by WADA and the UCI, although the problem of Salbutamol has been resolved, its dominance and that of Team Sky continue to be vigorously debated by sports observers. Whether it's fair or not, a significant number is hoping for a new face on the podium in Paris on July 29th.
FOUR CHALLENGERS TO WATCH
We mentioned Nairo Quintana and his Movistar teammates elsewhere, as well as the Irishman Dan Martin. Here are four others who will try to prevent Froome from winning a fifth victory on the Tour.
Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) took second overall last year and would be in better shape as the 2018 edition approaches. The Colombian is a strong climber and a good time chronicler, despite the ability that has earned him second place places in the Tour and Giro d 'Italia, he has not yet won the race as a professional.
Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) is the best hope of French cycling to end a 33-year drought. The host country has not won the race since Bernard Hinault did it in 1985, and Bardet, a strong climber and descender with a good tactical instinct, has already underlined his potential. After being ranked second in 2016 and third overall last year, he dreams tremendously.
Richie Porte (BMC Racing Team) has long been considered a potential champion of the Tour. He is a former teammate of Froome and therefore has a clearer picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the British than many riders. He recently won the Tour of Switzerland, and later stated that he thought he still had room for improvement in the preparation of the Tour. As long as he built on this form, he could go to the end.
In addition to Froome, Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) is the only other winner of this year's starting list. The Italian triumphed in 2014 and built his entire year around the Tour, suggesting to reporters that this season could be his last chance to win the event.
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