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ESPN staff
The 2018 Tour de France teams’ launch was overshadowed by the booing and jeering at Chris Froome and Team Sky as they were introduced at a launch event Thursday evening.
Froome has been cleared to race the Tour after cycling’s governing body, the UCI, closed an anti-doping case against him.
The four-time Tour de France winner tested positive for excessive levels of salbutamol during last year’s Vuelta a Espana but the World Anti-Doping Agency concluded Froome’s results did not constitute an adverse analytical finding.
But Froome still received a less-than-welcoming reception from the crowd at La Roche-sur-Yon as he and his Team Sky teammates were presented, highlighting that the home crowd are not willing to accept WADA’s verdict.
Earlier this week UCI president David Lappartient appealed to cycling fans for the safety of Froome in an interview posted on social media.
Froome won the Giro D’Italia in May while the anti-doping investigation against him was still ongoing and believes he has nothing to fear ahead of the tour, which starts in Noirmoutier-en-l’Île on Saturday.
“I just raced the Giro in May with the Salbutamol thing hanging over me, and nothing happened there,” Froome said in a Team Sky press conference on Wednesday.
“In terms of safety I obviously would encourage fans of the sport to come watch the race, and if you are not necessarily a Chris Froome fan or a Sky fan, come to the race and put a jersey on of another team you do support. That would be my advice.”