The fight is real – Kiwi cyclist Jack Bauer says 2018 Tour is the hardest

As the mighty Sky team prepared to defend its lead over the Tour de France before the crucial next stage of the Pyrenees – and a French audience that it considers hostile – the New Zealand cyclist Jack Bauer

The British team of Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome were expecting a three-day attack across the Pyrenees on the day of rest, where they expected attacks not only from their rivals, but also anti-Sky spectators who have until now, Bauer was resting as best as he could to complete the remaining steps within the time limit and eventually reach the line. arrival of the Tour in Paris on Sunday.

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Up to now, Bauer has found his fifth start in the hardest ride in his history. Something to gain by being at the back of the pack in the mountains – or at the back – is that he keeps him at least off the line of verbal abuse and firing. Sky jumpers.

For Bauer, who races the Mitchelton-Scott Australian team, Monday's rest day, could not have arrived earlier after three days of racing in the Alps, then in France to the Pyrenees

"I have not suffered so much in the Tour since I started in 2013," he said. "These three days of Alpine [last week] fall [as] to my lowest."

The story of Bauer is shared by a number of runners exhausted late in the Tour, but lost in the tale of Thomas' offer for glory and before the 16th stage of Carcassonne to Bagneres- de-Luchon in the Pyrenees, Thomas finished at the top of the general standings by 1min 39sec on Froome who finished second, 1min 50sec, on the Dutch Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) third The Slovenian Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) is fourth in 4 strokes and 38 seconds later

Roadside spectators abused Sky's team, Thomas Blilsford, head of the team. "I do not think it's going to stop," said Brailsford

"I'm not overly optimistic about this front, we accept it and we have to make a decision about how to behave We try to stay dignified.

"We try not to react and we try not to" I do not think spitting and throwing stuff into professional sport. "

" I'm not not sure that this has a place in everyday life, but it seems to be done here. "

Doubt, even protest, about the handling of the problems by Sky is understandable, the recent note being the Froome salbutamol case for which the World Anti-Doping Agency had allowed it before

But that Sky was physically abused by spectators in Tours' past – and continues to do so in this year's race – is appalling.

Nevertheless, the image of the The team at the Tour was not helped by the antics of some, such as the reaction of Welsh runner Luke Rowe to snatch an anti-Sky sign from the hands of a spectator before leaving. Step 15, his Italian teammate Gianni Moscon was ejected from the Tour for the French Elie Gesbert Strike (Fortuneo-Samsic) and Monday, Brailsford.He did not favor his team by qualifying French culture as a catalyst for him. hostility to his team

He may well acted against those who hide behind such antics. "It's interesting that we had just done the Tour of Italy." Chris [1 9459034] was open and the Italians were fantastic, "said Brailsford, of the great Froome Tour won.

"It just seems to be a French thing – like a French cultural thing.I am not sure that they would have liked their football players to be spit on it."

"I'm sure that's a good thing. there would have been a word or two about it, I would have a little problem if it happened in My Country, but we are going there.

For Bauer – who was 128th of 150 survivors at 2:13 pm 36sec to Thomas – and his Mitchelton-Scott teammates, what is happening in the past is not their fight battle. This is unless the British leader of the team, Adam Yates, uses his climbing prowess and wins a victorious breakaway, but his hopes of finishing at the top spot slip into the Alps

. announced two years of re-enrolling Yates and his twin brother Simon who won three stages of this year's Giro and wore the leader's pink jersey for 13 days

If it's not glowing Yates, l & # 39th team still has the Spanish Mikel Nieve ready to remind everyone how far he can climb, as he did on the 11th stage in La Rosiere where he attacked but was caught up to only 300 meters from the finish; and Australian Damien Howson, waiting for his recovery after a slight fracture of the hand contracted in an accident near the end of step 15.

– Sydney Morning Herald