Sky. Chris Froome in the field – Cycling

Saint-Mars-La Réorthe, you know? It is in this commune of 950 inhabitants, not far from the Herbiers, that the Sky had invited the press. Initially planned at the Hotel de la Sky, the conference was held at the village sports hall to accommodate the hundred or so journalists, mainly foreigners, waiting for explanations.

"I trust the French"

A sheet metal room with a bitumen floor in the middle of nowhere to host the world's biggest team and the most watched rider on the planet cycling, the stage had a Surrealist side. The stage set, the conference could begin. It began with the screening of a film about Ocean Rescue, the team's new partner, and a foundation that aims to reduce the presence of plastic in the ocean. Sky likes it when it's clean … Dave Brailsford spoke at length to remind those who did not know that his leader had been cleared by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and therefore there was no reason that the Tour takes place in a deleterious climate. "The case is over and I trust the French to understand it".

"I love France"

The four-time winner of the Tour held the same speech as his boss. To the relevant question from a foreign journalist: "How do you explain that your salbutamol rate was twice the maximum allowed? The British man remained impbadive, contenting himself with a lapidary: "I gave this explanation to the UCI". To another direct question: "Do you fear the reception of the public? He replied, "I love France, I love France". Wednesday at the gymnasium of Saint-Mars-La Réorthe, while the storm rumbled outside, Froome was clearly in campaign. Will he be heard? Beginning of response this Thursday with the presentation of the teams in La Roche-sur-Yon. (*) Controlled on September 7 on the Tour of Spain with an excessive rate of salbutamol (medicine to cure asthma), Chris Froome was cleared last Monday by the International Cycling Union.