It was the outcome Sir Dave Brailsford did not want above all others. The early abandonment of team leader and defending champion Chris Froome has drawn the inevitable criticisms about building a squad solely around the 29-year-old.
Should 2012 champion Sir Bradley Wiggins have been included? Why did in-form British champion Peter Kennaugh – currently rubbishing claims he was out of touch by leading the Tour of Austria – miss out?
Claims Team Sky do not have a plan B, however, are unfair – with Australian Richie Porte now stepping up to lead the British team.
But for illness Porte would have led the team’s GC challenge at the Giro d’Italia – and the same illnesses cost him a tilt at Tirreno-Adriatico when he was well-placed overall.
Had Wiggins been included, he would now be riding in the service of Porte – and probably be well down overall unless he had broken the habit of a lifetime and excelled in the wet on stage five.
Team Sky are still well-equipped to get something from this Tour – in Porte, Geraint Thomas and Mikel Nieve, Sky still have a formidable line-up for the mountains, and David Lopez, Xabier Zandio, Danny Pate and Vasili Kiryienka are hardly mugs themselves.
The yellow jersey, you would imagine, will be a step too far but a podium place for Porte on his first big chance to shine as team leader, would still be an achievement worth applauding.
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