The sign hanging on Alpe d'Huez 'Irish Corner 10' that David Walsh alleged read "Froome Dope". But as this photo shows, it read "Froome Dopé"; a French sign. Irish fans have insisted it was placed there by French fans. We have distorted the face of the man in the photo simply because we have no idea who he is. There is no suggestion whatsoever he was engaged in any of the behaviour documented in the story below.
Many Irish fans who were on Alpe d’Huez for stage 18 of the Tour de France last Thursday have disputed an account of intimidating and disrespectful behaviour directed at Team Sky as outlined in a report by journalist David Walsh in The Sunday Times at the weekend.
Walsh’s allegations suggest the team was subjected to eggs and beer being thrown at them and that Chris Froome was squirted with an unidentified liquid from giant syringes, some of the contents of which went into his mouth.
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The Irish reporter also suggested when the Sky team cars slowed right down on some stretches of the climb, fans at the side of the road moved in and rocked the vehicles from side to side.
“The abuse was worst at those parts of the climb populated by Irish and Dutch fans,” wrote Walsh, before adding that one large sign on Irish corner read “Froome Dope”.
Walsh reports that Sky’s Irish doctor, Alan Farrell, met some Irish fans the morning after the Alpe d’Huez stage and that he, Farrell, told them he was “disappointed” at the way Froome and the team had been treated.
Walsh suggested Farrell was very upset as he relayed the story, saying there were tears in his eyes as he spoke.
Walsh also reported that a number of members of an Irish cycling club sought out and found team principal Dave Brailsford and apologised, apparently for the behaviour of some of the Irish fans on the climb.
However, after stickybottle reported these allegations yesterday, Tuesday, we were contacted by a large number of fans who say they were on the climb and who have taken issue with what Walsh has claimed.
Those who contacted us have taken umbrage at the manner in which Walsh has linked Irish fans to antics that could have been carried out by fans from other countries.
Four men from Lakeside Wheelers Mullingar have identified themselves as the people whom Walsh claims apologised to Brailsford. However, they have insisted they did not seek him out, did not apologise and instead merely explained to him during a chance meeting the next day that people who threw water at Team Sky and squirted water via a giant syringe at Chris Froome were not Irish.
A number of fans have told us while they did see some of the worst events described by Walsh taking place; they have insisted the fans involved were either French or Italian, or both.
Last Thursday’s stage 18 of the Tour took the riders up the famed Alpe d’Huez twice and witnessed the first time that Irish fans had gathered in a designated sport; ‘Irish Corner 10’.
It was established as a focal point for the Irish and was intended as a celebratory rallying spot for fans to gather to cheer on the riders as they passed, especially the two Irish riders in the race - Nicolas Roche and Dan Martin.
Walsh’s piece – a lengthy spread over two pages with an extended portion outlining the allegations which he links mostly closely to “the Irish and Dutch” – mentions the Irish corner just once. He says a large sign was hung there which read “Froome Dope”.
However, a number of fans have said the sign was not hung by Irish fans and was not even written in English.
Cycling Ireland president, Rory Wyley said he was on the climb and has contacted us in a personal capacity.
“I was at the Irish Corner on Alpe d'Huez and I must stress that the throwing of water and depicting the use of syringes was - as far as I could ascertain - carried out by a group of French ‘fans’.”
“I was in the company of an English friend of mine and his 12-year-old son, both of whom were welcomed at the Irish Corner - with my English colleague proudly draped in the Union Jack!”
“It is a pity that the actions of a few non-Irish have tarnished what was a very successful gathering, the sight of Nicolas Roche and Dan Martin acknowledging the support and of Stephen Roche stopping for a few minutes to greet the fans will live long in my memory.”
The Englishman Wyley was with, Gary Ross said he saw some people gathered just above Irish corner throwing water in the open window of a Team Sky vehicle and also throwing giant syringes in the air as the Sky-led main group passed by.
However, like Wyley he said the men involved were not Irish.
Diarmuid Maguire from Co Clare said there was booing at one of the Sky team cars driving up Alpe d'Huez before the race reached the climb.
"At this point, most people at Irish corner were sitting at the side of the road not taking too much notice of what was passing. Quite a few people were surprised to see four or five intimidating grown men booing the Sky car.”
Maguire said the party of five were Irish and appeared to be together.
“The car slowed down and half pulled in and it looked like words were exchanged. Again, this was maybe five people maximum who were booing the Sky car with everyone else at Irish corner bemused.”
“In fact, a lot of people made an effort to cheer the next Sky car around the corner to let the minority know that they should keep quiet.”
Maguire said that around 50 metres past corner 10 a number of men who he believed to be French made it known that they intended to spray Froome with water from oversized syringes when he passed that spot.
He added some of the Irish present told the French to “cop on”, that this had caused some “agro” and that the police intervened. Other Irish people who contacted us said they believed the "agro" occurred when some British fans at Irish corner 10 tried to stop the French fans' antics.
Maguire continued: “The ‘Froome Dopé’ flag was put up by the same French lads who wanted to spray him in the race.”
“If the flag was lower down and if there wasn't three gendarmerie below it, it would have been removed by Irish fans.”
“Yes there was booing at turn 10. But it was from a minority who appeared to hate all things British. And, everyone around me was roaring Froome and Team Sky on when they came around the corner.”
“If the doctor who Walsh spoke to was in the car that got booed, I can understand why he would be upset. It was just unfortunate that most people were sitting down and the five booers were so loud and aggressive; 99 per cent of people were ashamed of the 1 per as is often the case.”
Another Irish fan who contacted stickybottle, Michael Mannix supported Maguire’s account that those who sprayed water and hung up the banner/flag were French and that the sign was a French one.
Mannix, a founder member of the Earl of Desmond club in Tralee and a Cycling Ireland commissaire, said he cycled to the top of the mountain before descending back down as far as Irish corner, where he stayed from 12 noon all day.
“I was present there on the day and witnessed (all of it) firsthand. Stephen Roche actually stopped on his way up to say hello as I have known him for many years.”
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“A crowd of French "fans" were at this corner and had large syringes which they kept squirting water from on all who passed. When the race actually came close they threw large pans of water at the Sky cars specifically, along with a tirade of abuse.”
“By the second passage a close-by British group went to them to remonstrate at their antics. By now they were getting into surgeon type uniforms to imitate a doctor with a syringe.”
“Word borrowed word to end up finally in a melee with six of the French group (clashing) with two British. They fell out on to the road and just as Froome had passed me, they actually knocked a rider off of his bike. I helped to get him going.”
“The police intervened much too late and tried for ages to separate and stop the (disturbance). No Irish person whatsoever was involved and no Irish fan interfered with the Sky riders. Some fans met me on the way home on Sunday and told me that they had met Sir Dave Brailsford and had explained all.”
Another fan who was there, Susie Goodwin said when Froome was approaching the second time up the climb, some in the group throwing water had changed into surgical scrubs in a van parked at the side of the road.
She said many believed the French group were going to chase Froome while dressed in the medics gear carrying a syringe, and that fans on Irish corner came to that spot to make sure those dressed up could not get out of the van.
Colm Ryan from Templeogue in Dublin supported Goodwin’s version of accounts of fans intervening to stop the protest directed at Froome and Team Sky from the group of fans with the syringes and water who were believed to be from France.
He said they became incensed when they could not get out of the van in time to run alongside Froome.
“The ‘caged surgeons’ eventually got out and attacked the English group. The fight spilled across the road just as another group of riders approached impeding their progress. One rider almost fell and stopped momentarily to avoid the skirmish. I don't recall who this was but several Irish lads assisted him in getting back pedalling on his bike."
“The police who were close by did very little to intervene. Surprisingly, their's was a softly, softly approach. I hope this clarifies some of the confusion surrounding Irish fans behaviour at Irish corner 10. I can't be sure of fans behaviour elsewhere on the mountain but I would like to believe it was impeccable.”
Some other fans who contacted us but did not want their names printed said there was some booing of Team Sky from a small group of Irish fans, but they believed it was jocular and without malice.
They believed it arose from jibes on Twitter during the Tour from Sky’s Geraint Thomas in which he suggested Dan Martin’s stage 9 win was a British victory rather than an Irish one.
Another fan who was there, Bryan Duggan from Dublin said the French/Italian fans that were at Irish corner were just above the turn as the riders exited it. He said they had a paddling pool and it was from this that they drew water for their giant syringes and also threw some buckets of water at Sky vehicles.
“I have no doubt everything he described did happen,” he said of the substance of Walsh’s piece.
“Very little of it occurred at Irish Corner and what did occur there was not carried out by Irish people.”
He said the sign about Froome mentioned by Walsh read “Froome Dopé” and was not hung by Irish fans.
Duggan said the crowd on Irish corner was closer to 200 rather than the 500 to 1,000 estimates suggested in some reports, including on stickybottle. He said given that sized crowd on the corner, the team cars did not have to slow down to the speed that would allow them be rocked by fans on that stretch of the climb.
He added the French fans had engaged in “playful carry on” in squirting with water anyone who cycled by in Sky gear in the hours before the race reached the climb but that that activity became more serious later.
However, he said he did not witness any fans - of any nationality - throwing beer or eggs at any riders or vehicles in the area of Irish Corner 10.
The Irish fans who began the idea of ‘Irish Corner 10’ have refuted the fact that an anti-Sky atmosphere was created on that bend of the climb, saying: “As Irish fans who enjoyed a wonderful day at Irish Corner at Alpe D'Huez, we wish to refute the implication by David Walsh that Irish fans jeered or abused Chris Froome, or indeed any Sky rider, or that Irish fans were in any way responsible for the banner referred to.”
Pictures often speak louder than words so we have a set of photos for you and some video from Irish Corner 10.
Chris Froome riding through Irish Corner 10 as fans cheer and French/Italian fans are trapped in their van to block them running beside the yellow jersey dressed in their medics gear
Here's some photos that explain how it all looked on the day.....
Irish Corner 10 early in the day - mostly Irish flags but also note the sign 'Ja Ja Reviens' in French and the Swiss flag and two Union Jacks to the right of the photo; all strongly suggest there was more than the Irish at 'Irish Corner 10'
The road into Irish Corner 10 was pretty wide with good crowds, but not so thick that cars would need to come to a near stop at that particular stretch.
Even when the crowds were at their thickest just before the riders arrived, there was still plenty of road for team cars to make a clean passage through 'Irish Corner 10'.
Note in the extreme left of the photo the syringes squirting water and one of the men wearing a polka dot item of clothing. These items exactly match those we have seen in other photos supplied to us by Irish fans. Those same Irish fans say the men in the photos with the syringes were not English speakers and were the ones who threw water and syringes around and tried to dress up as medics and chase after Chris Froome.
In the top left hand corner you will see a paddling pool on the right side of the road and lots of water on the road. The paddling pool is located just above the turn, and was passed by the riders as they exited Irish Corner 10. It was at that spot where the water is that Irish fans who contacted us allege a group of French and/or Italian fans were throwing water and syringes around. The same Irish fans have said these men were definitely not Irish and had nothing to do with Irish Corner 10.
The 'medics' trapped in their van unable to stage their protest; take a look at the French writing on the van, suggesting the vehicle is not an Irish one.
Good clean fun; some Irish fans cheer on the eventual stage winner Riblon from Ag2r
