Bergerac — Cracks have appeared in the Team Sky armour on the Tour de France, but defending champion Chris Froome remains on track to claim a fourth title after the opening block of racing. The Briton survived a day in hell in Sunday’s ninth stage as big rival and long-time friend Richie Porte crashed out, but he lost his lieutenant, Geraint Thomas, who also exited the race after a fall. Froome is now without his key support, he could not drop his main rivals in the last climb to the Mont du Chat and was also distanced by 2016 runner-up Romain Bardet in the treacherous final descent. In addition, Froome had to deal with controversy. Fabio Aru attacked him just as he was requesting assistance because of a mechanical problem on the Mont du Chat. Later, Froome appeared to lean onto the Italian, who then almost crashed into the spectators along the route. "I lost my balance a little bit and swerved to the right. Aru happened to be on my right and he had to swerve as well. Any suggestion...
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