President Trump has joined the chorus of high profile people insisting that Chris Froome should ride the 2018 Giro d’Italia.
In an early morning barrage of tweets, the president echoed the sentiment of cycling legend Eddy Merckx that Froome should tackle the Giro before his attempt at a fifth Tour de France victory.
“Froome must ride Giro. Only a loser skips Italian grand tour. What is he afraid of? Dumoulin a chump,” tweeted Trump.
Giro d’Italia boss Mauro Vegni was quick to approve of the US President’s opinion. “It is clear that Trump understand the beauty and history of the Giro. We assumed he was more knowledgeable about golf but we are delighted that he thinks Froome should ride the Giro,” said Vegni.
However, Team Sky general manager David Brailsford cautioned that Froome has yet to make a decision about the Italian grand tour and he questioned what, if anything, Trump knows about the sport of pro cycling. “Chris is focused on winning the Tour de France. It seems to me that the US President should stick to U.S. politics and not worry about what Chris is doing,” said Brailsford.
For his part, Trump minced no words in his series of tweets concerning Froome and the Giro d’Italia. “Froome TWICE rider of Marco Pantani. Froome not riding Giro is fake news!!! He’s tougher than those BAD NFL players disrespecting American flag,” tweeted Trump.
With a difficult and contentious tax reform program set to go to a vote, senior Republican leaders feared that the president’s out-of-the-blue tweets on Froome’s Giro plans would be yet another needless distraction.
“The president should stick to the script. Who cares whether Froome rides the Giro or not,” said Steve Milbits, a congressman from Wisconsin. “This is just another pointless and inflammatory remark that doesn’t get anything accomplished.”
Those remarks appeared to have little effect as president Trump continued his Giro tweets after a round of afternoon golf at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. “Dems like Tour de France because they’re losers. French cheese so runny!!! Giro much better. Italian podium girls so much hotter. Wake up, Froome!!!!”
It remains to be seen if the presidents Giro tweets will have any impact on Froome’s decision to attempt a Giro-Tour double. RCS Sport will present the route of the 2018 Giro d’Italia in Milan on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 29.
(And for those wondering if all this is true, no, it’s pro cycling comedy, folks.)
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