Sky under fire for 'hogging' Tour de France hotel car parks
FDJ team boss says Sky's fleet of Tour de France vehicles fills up hotel car parks and "lacks basic etiquette"
Team Sky's fleet of vehicles block hotel parking lots and is disrespectful, say some rival Tour de France teams. Its addition of motorhomes, for staff, plus a new kitchen truck pushed the envelope. Manager Marc Madiot of rival team FDJ said that Chris Froome's team "lacks basic etiquette".
Sky was one of the last teams to buy a kitchen truck, it debuted it at the Giro d'Italia. At the same time, it rolled out a motorhome for Richie Porte to sleep in. It aimed to minimise the stress and hygiene problems that come with sleeping in different hotel rooms every evening for a three-week Grand Tour. It wanted to continue to use it for Froome in the Tour de France.
The UCI barred motorhomes and said the cyclists must sleep in organiser-provided hotels, but Sky's fleet continues to roll ahead in the Tour this month. The kitchen truck remains - Principal David Brailsford invited journalists in for a coffee - and three motorhomes house team staff.
With staff sleeping in the parking lot, Sky's nine cyclists are able to spread out and have their own hotel rooms instead of sharing two per room as other teams.
The extra vehicles are too much for some, however. In the last few days, teams Europcar and LottoNL-Jumbo complained that they did not have enough space to park their vehicles when sharing hotels with Sky. French paper L'Equipe ran a spread on the issue in Monday's edition.
"It's really not easy with all the additional vehicles from team Sky," LottoNL sports director, Frans Maassen told Het Nieuwsblad newspaper.
>>> Richie Porte upset over UCI’s move to block motorhomes at races
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"We slept the previous night together in the same Mercure in Lisieux. Sky had three mega-campers. They had them parked long before even one car or truck of ours had arrived. It does not work, of course. "
Madiot told L'Equipe that Sky needs to have "some basic etiquette" when considering motorhomes and trucks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lATvwQTH1_8
Video: Team Sky takes you through the fleet of vehicles it used during the 2015 Giro d'Italia
Brailsford was surprised that the problem came up in the press before his fellow general managers approached him about it.
"Lotto arrived at the same time as our guys in the hotel and they had the choice of where to park and everyone agreed that they have that area and we had an area over there. Everyone was happy, 'Yes, how are you doing, Dave? Everything’s all right?'
"And then you read in the newspaper that they are having a moan," Brailsford said this afternoon after a press conference with Froome.
"It makes it difficult to work with people like that. I don't have respect for that, my philosophy is to take the problem to the person, I wouldn't smile in your face and then talk about it in the press. I don't have much respect for that really."
It appears too late now, but with the problems teams are having finding space, the UCI may be forced to introduce a new rule before cycling's next major tour, the Vuelta a España.
Video: Secrets of the toolbox - Team Sky
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
Five things to look out for ahead of the Tour of Flanders
Lidl-Trek's impressive form and Mathieu van der Poel's explosive start to the Classics season could make for quite the contest this weekend
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
A bikepacking trip is the perfect way to see the last viewable solar eclipse in the U.S. for 20 years - here's how
Following a 115-mile-wide path, the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse will last just under four-and-a-half minutes and can be viewed from multiple U.S. midwest and east coast bike routes
By Kristin Jenny Published
-
The art of peaking with Geraint Thomas: 'It’s easy to take for granted that 9 times out of 10 I hit my goals'
The Welshman also calls for better governance in the sport to help it grow further
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers’ 500th victory was claimed by a woman; why do they still not have a team?
The British squad is one of the richest in cycling - but Ineos still won’t stump up for a women’s team
By Adam Becket Published
-
'This is so much more than a number': Six of the best Ineos Grenadiers wins as team claims 500th race victory
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot took the 500th team win at the weekend
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tom Pidcock 'wouldn’t be surprised' to see attacks before the Poggio at Milan-San Remo
British rider will lead the line for Ineos Grenadiers alongside Filippo Ganna
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers delighted with Egan Bernal’s late cameo on stage one of Paris-Nice
Colombian snapped up key bonus seconds in the general classification battle on run in to Les Mureaux
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
‘It doesn’t change anything’ - Tom Pidcock’s coach on Tadej Pogačar at Strade Bianche
Kurt Bogaerts says the pressure is off for Pidcock as he looks to defend the title he emphatically won last year
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers say they will work with British Cycling to get Tour of Britain back on ‘as quickly as possible’
Ben Swift and Owain Doull both say it would be a "shame" were the Tour of Britain to be no more
By Adam Becket Published
-
‘We're now the hunter, not the hunted’ - New Ineos Grenadiers CEO commits to reclaiming top spot amongst WorldTour elite
John Allert outlines team’s targets and ambitions for 2024, including regaining Grand Tour dominance of old
By Tom Thewlis Published