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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." [19659003] "He was very calm for 10 days," said the Frenchman, "with only a few"
But the appeal to Prudhomme's calm seems to have fallen in the ear of a deaf, as was demonstrated towards the end of step 13, when a light eruption occurred.
The cumulative effect of the serial doping scandals, the l? Festina's scandal affair Armstrong, is that there is less respect for the Tour squad today than it was 20 years ago.In the meantime, the knives have been out 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, raced by a bunch of many Great sprinters were Peter Sagan won with some inevitability, but the events of the day were overshadowed by the consequences of the 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 shot down by a strap hanging over the barriers of a spectator's camera.
After a 120-kilometer tour of Alpe d'Huez his fractured vertebrae were confirmed, Nibali was visited late on Thursday night at his hotel by an apologetic Prudhomme. The Italian should return to the Vuelta a España race, while his team, although irritated by his accident, should not take any further action.
"It's a paradox that Vincenzo Nibali, who has nothing to do with Team Sky, has found himself on the tarmac," said Prudhomme
. and on 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 professional athletes that they play and entertain without being affected by the crowd. Carsten Jeppesen, the team's chief technical operations officer, told The Guardian that the safety of the runners on the Alpe had been improved.
"They did a lot more than usual," said Jeppesen of the race organizers. "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 departure village for stage 13 at Bourg d'Oisans, although on the boo-ometer, it is apparent that this is not the case. is Froome, rather than the Welsh, who is seen as the villain of the play.
The French media, now waiting for a sixth victory of Team Sky in seven years, have also taken over. Sky team was described as "the two-headed snake" by Liberation, while the Team said that "when you wear the shirt of the British team, the suspicion is as contagious as the Herpes. "
away from his peers at the top of the grueling climb to Alpe d'Huez, brought comparisons with Eddy Merckx of a veteran in the newsroom. But it also provoked the derision and derision of others, disconcerted by Sky's continuing production line of Grand Tour contenders.
"If my grandmother rode Sky, she could win the Tour," Jules told The Team. He booed and mocked Thomas's success on Alpe.
Meanwhile, some believe that Thomas is simply the stooge of Froome, a glorious man, to defeat world champion Tom Dumoulin against the clock before the final. A potentially decisive time trial next Saturday against Espelette
But what if Thomas is the one who bluffs? And if Sky Harbor doubted Froome's ability, after winning the Giro d'Italia, to rise to the challenge of winning its fourth Grand Tour in a row, a feat that, incredibly, would be tantamount to being undefeated for three years. whole 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 allowed him to take advantage of Dumoulin's focus on Froome? In the long history of Team Sky, which has confused the establishment of cycling with dual thinking and contradiction, this could be the biggest stroke of all.
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