Sir Dave Brailsford took to French television last night to face down some of Chris Froome’s critics only to find that scepticism around the Team Sky leader will not be banished easily. Brailsford defended his team’s methods on the live Stade2 show but, in a sign that the battle for credibility remains a long, hard struggle, the host broadcaster called on a physiologist to cast more suspicion.
It is hard to see how Pierre Sallet’s calculations of Froome’s power output in his hotly-debated climb up to La Pierre-Saint-Martin last Tuesday could be trustworthy given the estimates involved. For example, Sallet, who has a doctorate in physiology, made sums based on Froome’s weight at 71kg (11st 3lb) when it is nearer 67kg.
But, whatever the reliability,