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Christopher Froome (Sky) spoke in front of the media this Wednesday night. In the municipal gymnasium of Saint-Mars-la-Réorthe, the Briton was sold out, inevitably. And kept his legendary phlegm. As if the storm above him did not exist, just two days before the start of the Tour de France.
Originally, Sky had planned to organize its pre-Tour de France press point in his hotel of Saint-Mars-la-Réorthe there at the end of the north-east Vendée. But faced with the expected influx, the British team finally decided to review their plans, and to take all his runners to express themselves in the municipal gymnasium. It did well …
Not that the basketball room, without basket, of this small commune of the Vendée grove is particularly welcoming, but it was necessary this space to allow the hundred or so journalists present to hear the words of Chris Froome .
++ TESTIMONY. "How the Festina affair turned me into anorexia"
The other seven Sky runners might have been there, everyone, of course, only had eyes for the British. To hear him, but to explain himself, especially, following his abnormal control of salbutamol on the last Vuelta, then on his "laundering" by the UCI on Monday. Froome was all of an attraction yesterday. Puy du Fou was only a stone's throw away, after all.
"I know it will take time"
If the setting, country, could have been conducive to the confidence, to a hint of emotion, without surprise, in front of so many an audience, it It was nothing. As if to show that he did not care about the storm that rumbled over his head for months – and that raged just yesterday in Vendee at the time he was speaking – the quadruple winner The Grande Boucle remained of marble, smile of ideal son-in-law, responding coldly to all the raises. 100% of them, yesterday, revolved around salbutamol, the bronchodilator that was found with twice the authorized dose in his urine last September. And the "White Kenyan" has answered 100% of them, sometimes the same, without getting upset, or abandoning its typically British phlegm.
++ Tour de France. Bleached Froome: Madiot Torpedo AMA's Credibility
"From the beginning, it was the worst nightmare, but I knew I had nothing to blame myself, did he, for example declared. I'm glad it's over so I can look ahead. Later, he dropped: "I know it will take time for people to understand, but I think for two days (and his" laundering "by the UCI) , they begin to see more clearly. But actually, it is a technical case, not easy to define … "
It was still a question of sport, a little bit. Not so many of his opponents, of whom he said there was "never had so many rivals" but more of the general context. "This year we can expect everything every day. There will be an explosive first week. Then two very hard weeks in the mountains. It will be very exciting … "
++ Tour de France. Démare: "Win the first day"
As does, for the first time, to chain Giro (he won in May) and Tour de France. A huge challenge that he considers as "the biggest challenge" of his career, knowing that incidentally, a fifth coronation on the Great Loop. He would then join Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain … Can he succeed? In any case, he confided that "the fact of having realized, last year, the doubled Tour – Vuelta" had "helped a lot" and that "had learned a lot about race management, recovery. "I'm ready" he continued
"I love France"
A question remains. That of the reaction of the public. Does he fear that the spectators will make him pay for this episode? Not so much, to hear it. "Of course, that was detrimental to my image, but I encourage fans to come see the race and be positive. If they are not fans of Sky, it does not matter, but they come with jerseys of the team they support! he thus launched them. "We trust the French " said Dave Brailsford, Sky's manager, at his side. And as Chris is innocent, the public will have a fair attitude .. "
++ Tour de France. Paracyclism invites itself on the stage of July 9 in Cholet
A little earlier, Froome had confessed: "I love France, it's a part of my life …" This Will July France know how to make this love come back? Yesterday, the Brit has in any case, as expected, done everything to clear the ground, but not add to it. Will it be enough? Answer this Thursday, at 6 pm, on the Place Napoléon of La Roche-sur-Yon on the occasion of the presentation of the runners.
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