Inside Team Sky's Home Coming

Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome may not have been in Grand Tour form, but the British crowds came out in force to catch a glimpse of the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia winners. Paul Knott followed the Team Sky duo’s voyage across the country.

Britain is in uncharted territory. We’re not talking about bumpy Brexit negotiations, but of having two British Grand Tour winners in the form of Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome. Both returned to the UK last week to ride their national tour, the first time they’ve both lined up since their relatively unknown years at Barloworld-Bianchi. That was 2009 when Froome had just switched from riding for Kenya to riding for Great Britain, Thomas was still just a decorated track rider and Team Sky was in the latter stages of being built. Fast forward nine years and the duo are at the top of the sport with a home public vying for their attention.

Was it fate that this year’s Tour of Britain started in Wales, the home of the current Tour de France champion, where amongst the hundreds of autographs hunters came a few strange requests. “You get asked to sign all kinds of random things, but I’ve never signed a dog before this week — so that was a first,” Froome told us.

This attention and goodwill was apparent at every stage, all of which seemed a million miles away from the hostile reception at the Tour de France team presentation in La Roche-sur-Yon.

The circus that followed Team Sky from Thomas’s home country around the Tour of Britain had a very different atmosphere to what Thomas, Froome and co were subjected to in France just over a month ago.

“When you see the reception we got in France it wasn’t great, it’s nice to come here and have everyone really happy for the team,” said Ben Jenkins, who has been a soigneur for Team Sky for the past five seasons.

“To have two of the greatest Grand Tour riders Britain has produced, it’s nice to have everyone get behind us.