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SHOTLIST: Omaha Beach, Normandy, France. June 30th, 2016

1. 00:00 Various of Chris Froom during interview

2. 00:11 SOUNDBITE: (English) Chris Froome, Team Sky:

"Very much so. Very much so. We love racing in France. We love the Tour de France. It's the most important race for us on our calendar. So yes, I'm really looking forward to the three weeks ahead."

3. 00:29 Cutaway

4. 00:36 SOUNDBITE: (English) Chris Froome, Team Sky:

"I do think that it's a route that is very much a climbers route. I think it suits a pure climber. Even though we have two time trials, they are very hilly time trials. So the guys who climb well should go right in them. But yeah, I think we've got a fantastic team here. I've got a lot of confidence in my team-mates. I feel privileged to be in a position to be leading a line-up of guys like that. I mean, guys who can be leaders in their own right have come here to support me and I think it's something that gives me a lot of confidence coming into this year's Tour de France."

5. 01:24 Cutaway

6. 01:31 SOUNDBITE: (English) Chris Froome, Team Sky:

"I think I am definitely in good shape. More or less, the same I have been in previous Tours de France. But I do believe this is going to be one of the toughest challenges for me of my career to date."

7. 01:53 Cutaway

8. 01:59 SOUNDBITE: (English) Chris Froome, Team Sky:

"My main rivals? I'd say primarily Nairo Quintana, given that both times I've won the Tour de France he was runner-up. He was the guy who finished second and pushed me all the way until Paris. But then again, you can't discount any of the big leaders who are here. Alberto Contador, Fabio Aru, Vincenzo Nibali, Tejay van Garderen, Richie Porte, Romain Bardet, Thibaut Pinot. There is a whole list of guys and that is the beautiful thing about the Tour de France. Once we start on Saturday, everyone starts as equals and we go from there."

9. 02:55 Cutaway

10. 03:01 SOUNDBITE: (English) Chris Froome, Team Sky (on crashes involving motorbikes on stages):

"I think it's something the sport really needs to keep working at. And it's something that is a work in progress. I think it's incredibly unfortunate accidents that have happened this year. But hopefully that is something that the sport is working at improving."

11. 03:27 Cutaway

SOURCE: SNTV

DURATION: 03:34

STORYLINE:

Defending champion Chris Froome spoke on Thursday (30th June) ahead of this weekend's start of the 103rd edition of the Tour de France.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

Chris Froome will enjoy the support of a Team Sky squad featuring strong climbers at this year's Tour de France.

Aiming to win cycling's showpiece race for a third time, Froome will be joined by Sergio Henao, Vasil Kiryienka, Mikel Landa, Mikel Nieve, Wout Poels, Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas on the roads of France this summer.

Speaking in Normandy on Thursday, close to the start of Saturday's opening stage at Mont Saint-Michel, Froome said: "I feel privileged to be in a position to be leading a line-up of guys like that I mean, guys who can be leaders in their own right have come here to support me and I think it's something that gives me a lot of confidence coming into this year's Tour de France."

The 31-year-old Briton first won the Tour de France in 2013 and followed that up with a second win last year.

On both occasions he was pushed all the way to Paris by Colombian Nairo Quintana and Froome expects the Movistar rider to be a serious contender this year as well, among a string of others.

"My main rivals? I'd say primarily Nairo Quintana, given that both times I've won the Tour de France he was runner-up." Froome said. "But then again, you can't discount any of the big leaders who are here. Alberto Contador, Fabio Aru, Vincenzo Nibali, Tejay van Garderen, Richie Porte, Romain Bardet, Thibaut Pinot. There is a whole list of guys and that is the beautiful thing about the Tour de France. Once we start on Saturday, everyone starts as equals and we go from there."

The Tour starts on July 2nd and finishes on the Champs-Elysees in Paris three weeks later.

The 103rd Tour will visit three neighbouring countries - Spain, Andorra and Switzerland - and pass through 16 sites and stage cities unvisited in previous editions.

Security will be tight, with France in a state of emergency since the attacks in the capital in November which killed 130 people.

The Tour will be protected by an unprecedented force of 23,000 police officers, including SWAT-style intervention squads.

Team Sky on Wednesday (28th June) in Dusseldorf presented its line-up for the 2017 Tour de France - with team leader Chris Froome aiming for his fourth title

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

Chris Froome said on Wednesday that winning a fourth Tour de France title was a bigger challenge than it has ever been.

Froome spoke to the media in a packed press conference In Dusseldorf, which this year stages the opening stage on Saturday.

Froome is looking for a fourth overall victory and to become the first man since Spain's Miguel Indurain to win at least three consecutive titles.

The Team Sky leader has had a very light racing schedule this year and has yet to score his a win this season.

Froome was not in top form at the Criterium du Dauphine, the traditional warm-up race before the Tour, but says it might be a sign he will peak during the Tour.

Froome will be supported by Sergio Henao, Vasil Kiryienka, Christian Knees, Michal Kwiatkowski, Mikel Landa, Mikel Nieve, Luke Rowe and Geraint Thomas.

Dusseldorf, Germany. 28th June, 2017.

1. 00:00 Team Sky riders arriving and taking a seat on the podium

2. 00:09 Chris Froome arriving and taking a seat on the podium, surrounded by cameramen

3. 00:32 Cameramen and photographers surrounding Froome on podium

4. 00:36 Photographers

5. 00:39 Team Sky on podium

6. 00:44 Chris Froome and Dave Brailsford

7. 00:48 SOUNDBITE: (English) Chris Froome, Tour de France champion:

"I feel as if I'm exactly where I need to be. I think the (Criterium) Dauphinee is just what I needed to get that extra bit of race rhythm. I've been very light on race days up until the Daupinee and I'd like to think that I'm coming into the Tour fresher than I've ever been before and certainly if numbers in training and feelings on the bike are anything to go by I'm ready for the next three weeks."

8. 01:20 Podium

9. 01:23 SOUNDBITE: (English) Chris Froome, Tour de France champion:

"The hunger hasn't got any less for me. If ever, I'm as motivated as ever, given that I've got so much more to race for now. This is the fourth, potentially a fourth Tour de France title that I'm here for, to try and get and that's ... I mean it's massive, it's massive. The challenge is even bigger this year, I feel the level of my rivals is even higher this year on a difficult course as well. So I'm here with all the motivation I've had before and even more."

10. 02:07 Podium

11. 02:11 SOUNDBITE: (English) Chris Froome, Tour de France champion

"What happened last year wasn't planned. I was reading the race in the right moment and making a decision. Of course I think the race this year is going to be a race that favours more aggressive riders so I'm certainly going to be looking out for those opportunities and look to ride an aggressive race if the opportunity is there."

12. 02:40 Audience and podium

13. 02:51 SOUNDBITE; (English) Chris Froome, Tour de France champion:

(on his future with Team Sky)

"I'm actually in the process of finalising now an extension with Team Sky until 2021 so at least for the next three years. So yeah, certainly."

14. 03:09 Chris Froome and Dave Brailsford

15. 03:12 SOUNDBITE: (English) Dave Brailsford, Team Sky general manager:

"You know, I'm pretty patriotic and I think what we've done here is built something from scratch really in British cycling and very, very proud of everything we've done with it. Now we've got a global team with many different riders from many different countries and proud every single one of them too. It's a real privilege to be among these lads, see how they work, see the quality of the work they put in, to be sitting here with a bloke who's won the Tour de France as many times as Chris has and going for another one, it's very, very ... you've got to remind yourself at times just how special that is."

16. 03:53 Camera pan right from cameramen gathering around Froome after end of presser

17. 03:59 SOUNDBITE: (English) Chris Froome:

(asked why it will be more difficult to win the Tour this year compared to the last)

"For two reasons mainly. The level of my rivals is higher than it has been before and also I think the parcours we have this year with less mountain-top finishes and les time trial kilometres, it leaves less opportunities for the GC (General Classification) riders."

18. 04:24 Chris Froome leaving

SOURCE: SNTV

DURATION: 04:30

STORYLINE:

Team Sky continued their preparations for the 2017 Tour de France with a final pre-race training ride in Dusseldorf, Germany on Friday (30th June).

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

The 104th edition of the Tour de France gets underway on Saturday (1st July) with a 14-kilometre individual time trial around the streets of Dusseldorf, Germany.

Chris Froome will be aiming to make a strong start to the defence of his Tour de France title and the 32-year-old Briton continued his preparations by going for a final pre-race training ride with his Sky team-mates on Friday.

Froome is seeking a fourth overall victory in cycling's greatest race and could become the first man since Miguel Indurain to win at least three consecutive Tour de France general classification titles (Tour de France results from 1999 to 2006 having been expunged from the record books).

His latest bid for glory will be supported by Sergio Henao, Vasil Kiryienka, Christian Knees, Michal Kwiatkowski, Mikel Landa, Mikel Nieve, Luke Rowe and Geraint Thomas.

This year's race starts in Germany and crosses into Belgium and then Luxembourg before heading into France.

A total of 21 stages will be covered in the space of 23 days, with the race climaxing on 23rd July with a traditional ride to the Champs Elysees in Paris.

Dusseldorf, Germany. 30th June 2017.

1. 00:00 Various of Chris Froome before training ride

2. 00:26 Team Sky general manager Sir Dave Brailsford

3. 00:32 Christian Knees

4. 00:42 Vasil Kiryienka

5. 00:48 Geraint Thomas

6. 01:02 Various of team members preparing for ride

7. 01:21 Various of Froome talking to team mechanics

8. 01:55 Team members waiting to ride

9. 02:02 Various of team members setting off on ride

SOURCE: SNTV

DURATION: 02:09