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CARCASSONNE, France – The era of Team Sky domination on the Tour de France has arrived. A tour with a single rider who seems able to deprive Chris Froome of Team Sky of a fifth career title. And that's another Team Sky driver.
Sky has a rare wealth, a great ambition and an ability to store his roster of riders with the talent to lead any team in the squad – which has created an unexpected headache. Froome, four-time winner and defending champion, is in second place. The man in front of him in the yellow jersey is his teammate, British compatriot, and chief lieutenant, Geraint Thomas.
"We have two playing cards and it is clear that we do not want to decide yet," Sky sports director Nicolas Portal said in French. "I'll leave it to the other teams to determine which one will continue."
But as the Tour enters its last week and heads for a series of mountain stages in the Pyrenees, Sky could be forced to make a choice. Because cycling is a team sport and riders must be dynamic and lead their teammates, Sky can not afford to share its resources. Thomas sits 1 minute and 39 seconds ahead of Froome, with Tom Dumoulin of the Sunweb team just 11 seconds away
Bringing a fit Thomas to the Tour was still part of Sky's strategy. Since Froome was trying to become the first driver to win consecutive victories at the May Giro d'Italia and the July Tour de France since 1998, there was always a chance that his form could break. Sky was also prepared for the possibility that Froome could not start at all, due to a doping allegation that was resolved in his favor at the last minute.
What the team did not expect Thomas to take control of the whole race. He grabbed the yellow jersey with a stage victory in the Alps last week, then chained with another win at Alpe Huez the next day
"C & It was the first time we tried something like that, "Portal said. "But we can not be too caught up, we have to stay strong, because Dumoulin is here."
This is an unfamiliar position for Sky, whose entire Tour de France machine has revolved around Froome during the five In recent years, since he's filed the former team leader, the 2012 champion Bradley Wiggins. Like Thomas, Froome had been Wiggins' main housekeeper and often seemed stronger than the leader until Sky gave him the reins.
The difference now is that Thomas and Froome do not have the same animosity under the surface. Froome did not care much about Wiggins – and the feeling seemed to be reciprocal. On Sunday, Froome and Thomas drove on the finish line while giggling together
"As long as there is a Team Sky driver on the highest step of the podium in Paris, I'm happy," he said. said Froome Monday.
A group that could be as happy with a change of guard is the fans. While both men were booed at this Tour, Thomas appears as a more acceptable champion at the faithful Tour by the French route. Froome has spent most of the year fighting off the doping allegations after showing high levels of asthma medications in his system last fall. Froome was rid of all wrongdoing, but that did not stop the taunts.
Froome managed to avoid them and stay on the message, even in the middle of the reverse race of his team. He says all the good things about Sky working as a single unit, while Thomas says all you need to know about Froome who remains their leader.
But that's because Sky has not been forced yet. It's good to let things unfold during flat phases that rarely affect the overall standings. "I'm only waiting for orders," said Wout Poels of Sky, one of the main members of the team responsible for helping his teammates cross the Pyrenees.
Portal is happy to keep the mystery, perhaps because he himself does not know how things will unfold. After all, it's possible that Sky's executives do not have to make a decision. The vicious Pyrenees climbs could simplify their lives by breaking one of their contenders.
"In the Pyrenees, it's 50% in the legs and 50% in the head," said Thomas, who has never won a three-week stage race. . "I have to stay strong, what I can do in the third week is still unknown but the third week is hard for everyone."
The main part is where Froome can have a distinct advantage. Not only has he been in this place before – the man scored in Week 3 of a Grand Tour – but the more he goes without the yellow jersey on his shoulders, the easier of his Tour de France.
Froome is used at all traps of the race, which include up to two hours of interviews and press conferences after each stage. With Thomas asking these questions instead this year, Froome is free to calm down, get back on the Sky bus and start his precious recovery – no jersey, no problem.
For Thomas, no additional responsibilities weigh as heavily as the history of the yellow jersey on his back. Froome has worn it for 59 days in his career, a number surpbaded only by the greats of all time Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain. To match him, Thomas should hold him until the end of the 2020 Tour de France. But he can not think so far. He only wonders if he can stand the pressure of keeping her a week longer.
"That's the big question, is not it," Thomas said. "That's why Froomey is still our leader.He won six Grand Tours."
Write to Joshua Robinson at [email protected]
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