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Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour de France, called for calm after the tensions increased following the chaotic rise of Alpe d'Huez on Thursday when Chris Froome was jostled and his rival and former Tour champion, Vincenzo Nibali, was kicked out of the race after crashing because of a spectator.
"We must restore calm and respect all riders," said Prudhomme. "It was a very annoying climb from Alpe d'Huez.The Tour riders and the Tour champions must be respected, as they are by the vast majority of the public.
" It was very quiet for 10 days, with only some anti-Froome or anti-Sky. "
But the appeal to Prudhomme 's calm seems to have fallen into the ears of a deaf man, as was demonstrated towards the end of stage 13 when a flare has been lobbed in the peloton since
The cumulative effect of serial doping scandals, from the Festina affair to the Armstrong scandal, is that there is less respect for the Tour squad today than 20 years ago. Meanwhile, the knives released for Froome and Team Sky since the Grand Départ in Vendée are being sharpened.
The 13th stage of the Tour, from Bourg d'Oisans to Valencia, run by a mowed peloton The great sprinters were won with some inevitability by Peter Sagan, but the events of the day were eclipsed by the consequences chaos on Alpe d 'Huez.
Nibali was forced to leave the Tour after his accident. The 2014 champion, chasing Froome through a layer of smoke caused by flares, was flipped over by a strap hanging over the barriers of a spectator's camera.
After a 120-kilometer round trip from Alpe d'Huez where his fractured vertebrae were confirmed, Nibali was visited late on Thursday night at his hotel by an apologetic Prudhomme. The Italian should return to race at the Vuelta a España, while his team, although angry at his accident, should not take any further steps
"It's a paradox that Vincenzo Nibali, who has nothing to do with the Sky team was found on the tarmac, "said Prudhomme
Critical Froome
Asked about this incident and about his own treatment by the spectators, Froome was critical. "During the race, it is the responsibility of the organizers to protect the riders," said Froome.
Although Team Sky director, Dave Brailsford, adds: "You expect athletes professionals that they play and entertain without being touched by the crowd. "Carsten Jeppesen, chief of the team's technical operations, told Guardian that the safety of runners on the 39th. Alpe had been improved.
"They did a lot more than h Abitude ", said Jeppesen, organizers, ASO. "I think they've done a really good job, ASO is taking it seriously and they're trying to get more cops out and make sure some key points are taken care of."
"Fortunately, Chris was not upset by the guy who pushed him, but that 's Alpe' s Huez. This is not the first time that something like that has happened there. It's one of the iconic places of the sport, and there were also a lot of British fans and a lot of support.
Despite this, Froome and Thomas were booed again at the starting village for the 13th stage.Bourg d'Oisans, although on the boo-ometer, it is apparent that it is Froome , rather than Welsh, who is considered the villain of the play.
Contagious as herpes
The French media, now waiting for a sixth victory of Team Sky in seven years, Team Sky was described as the "two-headed snake" by Lib eration while L Team stated that "when you wear the shirt of the British team »
Thomas's physical strength to get rid of his peers at the top of the grueling climb to Alpe d'Huez brought comparisons with Eddy Merckx of a veteran of the press room. But it also provoked the derision and derision of others, disconcerted by the continuous line of production of contenders for the Grand Tour de Sky.
Meanwhile, some believe that Thomas is simply the stooge of Froome, a glorious man. of Tom Dumoulin, world champion against the clock, before the last decisive time-trial next Saturday against Espelette
But what if Thomas bluffs? And if Sky Harbor doubted Froome's ability, after his victory in the Giro d'Italia, to rise to the challenge of winning his fourth Grand Tour in a row, a feat that would incredibly amount to being undefeated for three full months of
And so, rather than just being a decoy for the Froome under fire, was mocking and jostling for the Vendee in Valencia, it was still about Thomas, and he allowed to take advantage of Dumoulin's focus on Froome? In the long history of Team Sky, which has confused the cycling establishment with double thought and contradiction, this could be the biggest shot of all. – Guardian
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