What ever respect I had for Froome and Team Sky, I think I lost today. On the final climb up l'Alpe d'Huez, Froome was cracking so Porte slid back to the team car, got what appeared to be an energy gel and a bottle and handed it to Froome.
Rules state that no feeding was to be allowed on the final climb up l'Alpe d'Huez. And yet, they willfully broke the rules. A 20 second penalty was given to Froome and Porte, along with a small monetary penalty for both them and the team manager in the car. This really bothers me.
Van Garderen was 3 kilometers from the finish, and he cracked. He didn't slide back to the team car and take on an energy gel and a bottle. He suffered until the end and lost the race.
It's like Froome and Team Sky are thumbing their nose at the tour and doing as the please to keep him in yellow. What if he didn't get the illegal feed? He could have lost way more time that the 20 second penalty he received.
We'll never know.
This infraction, in my opinion is, just as bad as if he were doping. He was cracking. He was losing ground to his competitors. If he truly wanted to win this clean, he wouldn't be breaking even these rules.
I read this article where he claims there was a mechanical problem with the car. Whatever. That gives you the right to break the rules? I don't think so.
There will always be an asterisk on this win by Froome in my book. He didn't win clean.
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