Chris Froome breaks silence to back under-fire Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford

Chris Froome has broken his silence over under-fire team boss Sir Dave Brailsford to give him his full backing by saying, “without Dave B, there is no Team Sky”.

Brailsford has been under increasing pressure following the ongoing furore of his handling of the fall-out from the therapeutic use exemptions for Sir Bradley Wiggins, and the jiffy bag of medication transported to Wiggins back in 2011.

While a litany of Team Sky riders publicly backed Brailsford last week on social media, Froome, the team leader, was noticeable for his silence.

But this morning, the three-time Tour de France winner finally spoke out, apologising for Team Sky’s handling of the issue in a statement and promising that he and his fellow riders would do their utmost to help restore the team’s damaged reputation.

“It disappoints me hugely to see the way in which Team Sky has been portrayed in the media recently,” he said. “It does not reflect the support crew and the riders that I see around me.

“At the same time, I completely understand why people feel let down by the way in which the situation has been handled, and going forward we need to do better. I would like to apologise for this on behalf of myself and the other riders of Team Sky who feel passionately about our sport and winning clean. I believe in the people around me, and what we are doing.”

There have been calls in some quarters for Brailsford to stand down from his position over his handling of the affair but he has also received public backing from the Team Sky board as well as many of the riders under his charge.

And Froome, who revealed a straining of relations with his team boss when he last spoke in January, added his weight to that backing.

He added: “With respect to Dave Brailsford, he has created one of the best sports teams in the world. Without Dave B, there is no Team Sky.

“He has supported me throughout the last seven years of my career and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunities and experiences I’ve had. By his own admission, mistakes have been made, but protocols have been put in place to ensure that those same mistakes will not be made again.

“I know it will take time for faith to be restored, but I will do my utmost to ensure that happens, along with everyone else at Team Sky.”