Team Sky "continued to come under sustained attack" off the road on Sunday, with Chris Froome accused of having an "abnormally high" power-to-weight ratio live on French TV, according to Tom Cary of the London TELEGRAPH. The maillot jaune also had to "fend off a succession of questions in the post-stage press conference," mostly from "disgruntled" French journalists who felt the '13 champion "had impugned them with comments he made the previous day." The "blows just keep on coming." Sky Team Principal Dave Brailsford walked into "a bit of an ambush on host broadcaster France 2 following Sunday's stage." France 2 pundits Cedric Vasseur and Laurent Jalabert are two of the "ignorant, irresponsible fools" named by Froome's wife, Michelle, on Saturday (TELEGRAPH, 7/19). The BBC reported Brailsford wants the Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) to "embed anti-doping officials into teams to help prove riders are clean." Brailsford: "It is not possible to prove a negative. I can't. But I can work with the UCI, independent experts. ... I would like the UCI to invest in individuals and put them into each team 24/7. That would prove we do nothing. I'm ready to do it" (BBC, 7/19). REUTERS' Julien Pretot reported Team Sky is "planning to release" part of Froome's data as it seeks to "end doping suspicions surrounding the Tour de France leader." Brailsford: "We had agreed to give our power data to UK Anti-Doping and the CADF (Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation). The CADF didn't want it, UK Anti-Doping had it but I don't think they did anything with it but we were willing to give it to an independent body and we could do the same again. And I think we'll have a look at it tonight and for the rest day (on Tuesday) we will just release an average cadence, average power" (REUTERS, 7/20).
'I'M NOT AFRAID': In London, Alasdair Fotheringham reported Team Sky has been given "extra police security in an attempt to ward off the poisonous atmosphere that has encircled the British team." Five gendarmes, "up from two earlier in the week, kept watch on the Sky bus at the start of stage 15 in Mende." It "remains unclear whether Sky's reinforced security presence, following both physical attacks and extensive online abuse, will now continue all the way to Paris." Froome: "I'm not afraid, I'm focused on the bike race, but of course it's a concern if you have fans interfering with the race in such a way; it's a concern for all riders" (INDEPENDENT, 7/19).
