ut alors! You can hear them chuntering into the croissants across the Channel.

First that upstart American comes over to our race and totally rips it apart for the best part of a decade.

Now they are even setting up a proper cycling team in England.

Mon Dieu! These people don’t even watch the sport and now they want to win Le Tour.

Yes, the French traditionalists are likely to be feeling pretty miffed at the moment.

The advent of Team Sky, the British team backed to the tune of £30 million by the broadcast giant, has seen to that. Particularly with Thursday’s unveiling of team leader Bradley Wiggins.

The man who finished only 20 seconds off a podium place in the last Tour de France has grand designs of going the whole hog with Sky’s lucrative support.

And who would bet against him?

Certainly there is no French competition to worry about. As always.

And Lance Armstrong is more concerned with running his own team than leading it now.

So that realistically leaves current champion Alberto Contador between Wiggins and the delicious prospect of the yellow jersey being draped around English shoulders on the Champs d’Elysees.

Maybe not next July. But look at the focus in Wiggins’ eyes and you can see that wonderful day is coming.

The pressure will be huge, of course. Especially if the British media finally cotton on to the fact that quite a lot of us are bothered about that strange race over the other side of the water.

Dave Brailsford, who has masterminded British cycling’s recent upsurge, is the head honcho of the Sky set-up.

He’s already cranking up the expectation on a rider that he describes as “very special”.

But Wiggins is happy that the bar will be set so high. With three gold medals to his name from two different Olympics he is used to success.

Who would have thought he’d have it in him to finish fourth in Le Tour? So who’s going to be brave enough to write off his chances of ever winning the thing?

“You never go into a bike race to finish fourth or third,” he said at his Sky unveiling.

“You go into every bike race to win it. I have to set the bar high to get out of bed in the morning.

“And the Tour de France is the only race which matters now.”

The British are coming. Perhaps it’s time the French stick to petanque.