Is this a thinly veiled metaphor for the French vs English way to approach winning the TdF?
The baguette is all style and promise. It’s golden crust, it’s fancy frilly lettuce spilling out of the jauntily sliced side. It’s all about the fancy mayonnaise and the aesthetically curled slices of jambon or salami. It’s a breakaway attack, a sudden whirl of the pedals, a flash of FDJ white or Europcar green. And it’s just as likely to end up clipping a pedal on the descent and ending up in a soggy mess in your lap.
The sandwich – is two slices of bread, enclosing a slice of cheese or a square piece of ham. There might be a scrape of pickle, to add panache, but no more than is necessary. The bread is solid, square, dependable – it’s Geraint Thomas in baked form. The cheese is Froome; matured, a hint of spiciness, maybe a nod towards foreign ways but solidly traditional. And just enough pickle to add a bit of bite. It’s not a breakaway type of condiment; it’s more like a kick for the line with 50 yards to go just to remind you that it’s there. The bread is only there to deliver the yellow filling right to the point it’s needed, and you know it’s going to do that job and not crumble under pressure. Stand proud you cheese and pickle winners!!