Even if the race for Yellow was in this year of scarce, it is probably not the usual picture: At the end of the Tour de France, Chris Froome exults in Paris. The rash he gave himself not this Time.
Impressive dominance: the Team Sky at the head of the field on the 18. Stage
Just behind the finish line, Michal Kwiatkowski, together bags. He sits on the Asphalt, leaning back against a fence, and wipes the sweat from his face. While a growing besieged by a group of reporters to the poles, and takes a deep swig from his bottle. For the picturesque scenery of the 2360-metre high Col d’Izoard, he has no eye. His gaze is completely empty and still tells a whole lot.
He was completely exhausted. With everything he has, Kwiatkowski drove the Col d’izoard climb, in order to protect his captain, Chris Froome prior to the attacks of the competition, and weaker opponents to hang out. Until you can’t anymore. Kwiatkowski veers to the right, even stopping short, collect and catch your breath before he can drive slowly. Tempo bolts ‘ til you drop. On the mountain stages of the Tour that is his job description at Team Sky. In the process, Kwiatkowski itself is one of the strongest classics riders in the world and was also the 2014 champion of the world. He stands for the principle of success of the Sky team: high Class a driver under the rank of captain Froome and sacrifice themselves completely for their chances of victory.
Ex-world champion as a domestic: Kwiatkowski in the service of the team
The Factor “Team”
The concept: In the Tour in 2017, the factor of “Team” is still more decisive than in previous years. Froome departs far less dominant than in the past. He controlled the race, although reasonably confident, but not a high Flyer. In Peyragudes, the opponents depend on him on the final steep section even, he loses the Yellow Jersey. “It was a difficult Moment for us. After that, we had to work hard for the opponent to put pressure on you to have the Jersey back,” says Kwiatkowski in an interview with DW.
Collectively, they isolate had later from the Italierner Fabio Aru, Froome, the Leader’s Jersey, but not a strong Team anymore. And that makes all the difference: Sky has dominated the strongest captain, but with a superior team. “We’re going very smart,” says Kwiatkowski, “Bardet, Uran and Aru had to try something to make from time to time. We were able to simply react, and controlling the field.” And this tactic also goes on the Izoard again: Not an opponent in the battle for Yellow is omitted, the Spaniard Mikel Nieve and Mikel Landa, and Michal Kwiatkowski to mellow out the competition with your high Tempo. “We just did our Job,” says Nieve, success has a simple reason: “We have incredibly trained hard and as a Team hard at this race.”
“You have the biggest Team, the biggest Budget, the best driver – you are simply the Best”, Oliver Naesen acknowledge. The Belgian master has tried, with his French AG2R team, once again everything, to shake the Base of the Sky. In vain. Be the captain Romain Bardet works with tireless attacks on just 23 seconds to Froome. But in the time trial on the penultimate day he is Froome in the clear. “Because you have to say ‘Chapeau’. Sky invests a lot of in the Details, and it drives the results,” says Naesen in the DW-Interview, in the hopes that you can approach the top dog in the coming years, in small steps, because the Sky-professionals come slowly in the years.
Froome in Yellow: the Sky captain can count on his team
The mistrust with driving
Currently, the supremacy of Sky, however, seems reasonably certain. With the exception of 2014, when Froome due to injuries had to give up, the Sky-Train as oiled. He was running so well, some have become suspicious. The calculated Watt-values of Froome were considered at least suspect, where the calculations were based on a few assumptions. But at least since the affair to a mysterious medication package for the former Sky captain and eventual tour winner Bradley Wiggins, adorns the white Jersey of the British pattern-team with a dark stain. Even if team boss David Brailsford ahead of the Tour any misconduct on the part of meadow, the affair is at least dubious. More transparency would help the British secure credibility.
But does not fit into the Sky-concept. Because of the Hear, after a year with 35 million euros, financed the team relies on the “marginal gains”, small advantages over the competition, and is not in the cards. Whether in the Material, and the diet or particular training control – Sky goes its own way and is the custodian of some secret of success as a Grail. So the competition at the Tour marveled at boot in Dusseldorf is not bad, as the Sky-professionals with special Aero-pads started in the racing suit. The Golf ball-like surface to save a few seconds, and, in fact, Froome and co. drove faster than the competition.
In a time trial on the penultimate day in Marseille, this Feature will likely come back and symbolically show that the Sky is all of a piece. If everything goes according to Plan, Chris Froome celebrate a day later, in Paris, his fourth Tour victory. And there is some evidence that this will not be the last.