Dave Brailsford, the king of jargon and management speak within pro cycling, has sought to present the sudden changes to the Team Ineos Tour de France plans as a fantastic opportunity for all involved.
Instead of Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas being “dropped”
– which is precisely what’s happened – Brailsford said Thomas wanted to be “the
first Welshman to win the Giro” while the team was desperate to support Froome
in a bid for another Grand Tour win, hence him being diverted to the Vuelta.
However, no matter how Brailsford packages it, this is
emergency, rather than elective, surgery based on the poor form of Froome and Thomas
in recent weeks – a jettisoning of what the team sees as depreciating assets
for other riders.
The dropping of Froome is understandable; the four-time Tour winner clearly needing more time to build his condition after his crash last year.
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Thomas being excluded from the race is harder to understand considering how he rode his way into the event last year, to finish 2nd behind Bernal.
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The changes announced today also serve as proof that Team
Ineos – which will now become Ineos Grenadiers – fears Jumbo Visma like it has
never feared any other team.
“I am very proud that we have several current, and I am
sure future, Grand Tour champions in the team,” Brailsford said in his
statement confirming the team’s Tour line-up.
“Selecting the right leader in the right race with the right support team is critical and has meant we have had to analyse all the latest information to make sure we are in the best position possible to optimise our performances in the coming months.
“Egan will once again target the yellow jersey in France and we are very excited to give last year’s Giro winner, Richard Carapaz, his debut in this year’s Tour also.
“Geraint will target the Giro and take on the opportunity to double up his Tour de France win with another Grand Tour title, with the aim of being the first Welshman to win it.
“In turn, Chris Froome will target the Vuelta. Chris is a legend of our sport, a true champion who has demonstrated incredible grit and determination to come back from his crash last year.
“We want to support him to compete for another Grand Tour
title and the Vuelta gives him that little bit
“We have been analysing closely how we can win the Tour
de France this year and we have a passionate team united by a common purpose,
ready to get the job done.”
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