Sunday 26 July 2015

Tour de France: Froome defeats them all

CHRIS FROOME became a double Tour de France champion on a sodden Champs-Élysées in Paris tonight, overcoming obstacles both on and off the road in a gruelling three-week campaign.

On the road, Froome ultimately finished in a total official time of 81 hours, 56 minutes and 33 seconds - 1'12" ahead of his closest rival, Colombian Nairo Quintana.

Moreover, Froome became the first man since the legendary Belgian Eddy Merckx in 1970 to win the general classification and the King of the Mountains prize in the same year.

Notably, this was also Team Sky's third overall victory in the last four years after Sir Bradley Wiggins' win in 2012 and Froome's first in 2013. However, success for Team Sky and Froome, in particular, has come at a cost.

For, in the past three weeks, the Kenya-born Briton has been subject to some of the most vile abuse in the Tour's 112-year history.

Some members of the crowd have spat at him and, in one particularly nasty incident, a cup of urine was chucked at him by a man accusing him of being a doper.

The assaults became so bad that Tour race director Christian Prudhomme demanded that the French public show respect to all of the competitors and especially the yellow jersey. Meanwhile, Froome began a stage in Mende surrounded by gendarmes.

Unsurprisingly, just as he did two years ago, the 30-year-old also went to some lengths to deny the accusations of his detractors.

But, as Team Sky general manager Sir Dave Brailsford has said, it is difficult to "prove" a negative.

That has not stopped Sky trying their best to end the rumours - and, in an unprecedented move, the team published some of Froome's performance data before calling on others to do the same.

Nevertheless, even the equivalent of a Formula One team allowing its rivals to look at its technical data has clearly not been enough to satisfy some critics - and Froome is aware that they are unlikely ever to be convinced.

Perhaps the most obvious explanation for the French hatred of Froome is petty jealousy - for, while he has won their race twice since 2013, it is now 30 years since France last toasted a home-grown success.

Of course, public opinion rarely suddenly springs from absolutely nowhere, and Team Sky has angrily made its position quite clear on some of the disreputable reporting by host broadcaster France 2.

It has not helped either that the likes of serial doper Lance Armstrong and accused cheat Laurent Jalabert have cast their own doubts.

Banned Armstrong even had the audacity to turn up and ride part of this year's Tour route, albeit in a private capacity for charity purposes.

Overall, though, Armstrong's presence anywhere near the race casts a shadow which it is still struggling to shrug off - and which, in turn, gives false credence to Froome's accusers.

After all, it only took one phenomenal performance from him - on Bastille Day - for them all to crawl out of the woodwork.

The Tour, which this year had began in the Netherlands for the sixth time in its history, had made its way across the north of France via several crashes caused by difficult crosswinds.

Froome had briefly worn yellow after the third day before German sprinter Tony Martin enjoyed the flat stages out in front prior to crashing out.

Then, on 14 July, Froome made his move. Up the Col de Soudet on the way into La Pierre Saint-Martin, high in the Pyrenees, he destroyed the field and finished the day with a lead of nigh on three minutes.

It was a brilliant performance by Froome, one which matched his attack on Mont Ventoux which all but won him the race in 2013, and none of his rivals for the yellow jersey - Quintana, reigning champ Vincent Nibali or Alberto Contador - got anywhere near his pace.

Suddenly, it was all about countering rumours and protecting the lead for Team Sky, although Froome did actually extend his advantage further on stage 14 on the Côte de la Croix Neuve.

That stage also saw Merseysider Steve Cummings win in the Tour de France for the first time ever, while Manx Missile Mark Cavendish had earlier won his 26th individual stage in a sprint to Fougères.

For Froome, however, success or failure would ultimately be decided in the Alps - and, on stage 19, Nibali and Quintana had nibbled into his lead a little.

Inevitably then, it would all come down to the climb up the Alpe d'Huez on the penultimate day yesterday, in what is very much the blue ribbon event of the Tour de France in general.

This time, Froome was in defensive mode, ready to shut down any attacks by his closest rival Quintana but not willing to expend potentially needed energy by attacking from the front.

For a while, Froome had the situation under control - but, aware he was running out of opportunities, Quintana was relentless in his approach and eventually opened up a gap of around 30 seconds.

The Colombian then stretched his lead and Froome - with his Sky team-mates Richie Porte and Wouter Poels - had to work hard to limit any losses.

They knew, however, if they could do this that victory would be theirs. This was, after all, Quintana's very last chance.

Amid a lot of tension, Froome - emotionally and physically exhausted - did indeed succeed in his task on the Alpe, and Quintana eventually was only able to take 86 seconds out of the Briton's lead of 2'38".

All that was left for Froome to do this evening was to make the short ride into the damp streets of Paris while sipping the sweet taste of champagne and the even sweeter taste of success.

For, let there be no doubt about it - this victory, for Froome and for Team Sky, was particularly sweet.

DAY-BY-DAY


RouteDistWinnerYellow jerseyLead
0104-JulUtrecht (time-trial)13.8kmRohan DennisRohan Dennis+5"
0205-JulUtrecht to Zeeland166kmAndré Griepel Fabian Cancellara+3"
0306-JulAntwerp to Huy159.5kmJoaquim RodríguezChris Froome+1"
0407-JulSeraing to Cambrai223.5kmTony MartinTony Martin+12"
0508-JulArras to Amiens189.5kmAndré GriepelTony Martin+12"
0609-JulAbbeville to Le Harve191.5kmZdeněk Štybar Tony Martin+12"
0710-JulLivarot to Fougères 190.5kmMark CavendishChris Froome+11"
0811-JulRennes to Mûr-de-Bretagne181.5kmAlexis VuillermozChris Froome+11"
0912-JulVannes to Plumelec (team time-trial) 28kmBMC RacingChris Froome+12"
Rest13-JulPau-



1014-JulTarbes to La Pierre Saint-Martin167kmChris FroomeChris Froome+2'52"
1115-JulPau to Cauterets188kmRafał MajkaChris Froome+2'52"
1216-JulLannemezan to Plateau de Beille195kmJoaquim RodríguezChris Froome+2'52"
1317-JulMuret to Rodez198.5kmGreg Van AvermaetChris Froome+2'52"
1418-JulRodez to Mende178.5kmSteve CummingsChris Froome+3'10"
1519-JulMende to Valence183kmAndré GriepelChris Froome+3'10"
1620-JulBourg-de-Péage to Gap201kmRubén PlazaChris Froome+3'10"
Rest21-JulGap-



1722-JulDigne-les-Bains to Pra Loup161kmSimon GeschkeChris Froome+3'10"
1823-JulGap to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne186.5kmRomain BardetChris Froome+3'10"
1924-JulSaint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Les Sybelles138kmVincenzo NibaliChris Froome+2'38"
2025-JulModane to Alpe d'Huez110.5kmThibaut PinotChris Froome+1'12"
2126-JulSèvres to Paris109.5kmAndré GriepelChris Froome+1'12"

FINAL STANDINGS
General classification Yellow jersey
Pos
TeamTime
(1)Chris FROOME (GBR)Team Sky81h 56'33"
(2)Nairo QUINTANA (COL)Movistar+1'12"
(3)Alejandro VALVERDE (ESP)Movistar+5'25"
(4)Vincenzo NIBALI (ITA)Astana+8'36"
(5)Alberto CONTANDOR (ESP)Tinkoff-Saxo+9'48"

Points classification Green jersey
Pos
TeamPoints
(1)Peter SAGAN (SVK)Tinkoff-Saxo432
(2)André GRIEPEL (GER)Lotto-Soudal366
(3)John DEGENKOLB (GER)Giant-Alpecin298
(4)Mark CAVENDISH (GBR)Etixx-Quick Step206
(5)Bryan COQUARD (FRA)Team Europcar152

Mountains classification Red polka-dot jersey
Pos
TeamPoints
(1)Chris FROOME (GBR)Team Sky119
(2)Nairo QUINTANA (COL)Movistar108
(3)Romain BARDET (FRA)AG2R La Mondiale90
(4)Thibaut PINOT (FRA)FDJ82
(5)Joaquim RODRIGUEZ (ESP)Katusha78

Young riders classification White jersey
Pos
TeamTime
(1)Nairo QUINTANA (COL)Movistar81h 57'45"
(2)Romain BARDET (FRA)AG2R La Mondiale+14'48"
(3)Warren BARGUIL (FRA)Giant-Alpecin+30'03"
(4)Thibaut PINOT (FRA)FDJ+37'40"
(5)Bob JUNGELS (NED)Trek Factory+1h 32'09"

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