It seems that Team Sky / Ineos can look forward to protests at the Tour de Yorkshire as anti-fracking accuse the new team boss of attempting to “greenwash” his evil corporation. The protesters will probably find the bus fare to France or Italy and do their best to be a nuisance at the Giro or TdF too. But, in all seriousness, why on earth would anyone look at bike racing as a in any promoting or advocating environmentally friendly transport? It’s a ridiculous assertion that World Tour cycling has anything to do with saving the planet or reducing carbon emissions.
Just look at the typical World Tour Race caravan. As a roadside spectator at the TdF, you’ll probably spend longer watching the (entirely internal-combustion driven, hydrocarbon fuelled) race caravan pass than you will spend watching cyclists. And that goes on for weeks… And then the entire circus is flown to another country, or even another country, for it all to happen again.
Even at a local, grass roots level, bike racing is similarly not-green. How many times have club members driven the length of the country to ride a single TT and spent considerably longer in the car than on the bike?
In short, Geraint Thomas has as much to do with promoting sustainable transport as Mo Farah does. Running is just like walking, except faster, right? And how many people watch Mo Farah and think “I must walk to work tomorrow…”? About as many, I think, as will watch the Tour de Yorkshire and think “next trip to the shops, I’ll just take the bike…”.