I wonder why Brailsford and his sports science approach, precise pre-season, measured early season race programme, obvious lack of 20% cracking steep bits suiting Froome, no tough uphill TT, choose Brad as team leader? Clearly Brad is the stronger rider on this years course.
Phenomenal positioning on the bike, no question he was the best out there just by looking at his rhythm on the bike. Whether it's looking at Contador from the helicopter changing pace uphill, Cancellara, Indurain or Brad in the TT, Cancellara's glorious downhill in the 2010 Tour, class is obvious; even if people use various methods.
Unusual for me but I am gushing with patriotic pride.....first Englishman to win the Tour fantatstic achievement. He was steady Eddie but showed a lot of class with his sportsmanship and willingness to help his team mates. Well done Mr Wiggins !!!
Wiggins is class. all the way through this tour everytime i hear the man speak it makes me like him even more. a down to earth real fan of the sport. great achievement. great team player with Cavendish being lead in by him. sky are a great team anyway. If froome gets the chance to join another team i will be hoping Wiggins can defend his title and beat him. Nothing against froome it’s just I prefer Wiggins and i think (though most think otherwise) he is overall the better cyclist.
Watching cycling for the first time ever - can someone explain why wiggins is champion whilst there's a stage to go ? And why would the Sky team choose to protect Wiggins to ensure he wins rather than, say, Cavendish ?
Watching cycling for the first time ever - can someone explain why wiggins is champion whilst there's a stage to go ? And why would the Sky team choose to protect Wiggins to ensure he wins rather than, say, Cavendish ?
Because it is tradition on the last stage of the tour de France for no one to attack the race leader. That also means the pace will be slow so Sky can afford to help Cav as Wiggins will be more than safe from getting over taken in the general classification and from crashing.
Watching cycling for the first time ever - can someone explain why wiggins is champion whilst there's a stage to go ? And why would the Sky team choose to protect Wiggins to ensure he wins rather than, say, Cavendish ?
Cav can never win the Yellow jersey. He is a sprint specialist and struggles over the mountains and isn't a good Time trialist. Even if the whole team helped him he would be hours behind other cyclists by the end. Cav's team last year did not have a cyclist capable of winning the yellow jersey and so were set up just for Cav winning the sprinters jersey itself.
A yellow jersey winner doesn't have to be the best at anything but has to be strong at everything and consistent.
Wiggo's average speed on the time trial yesterday was 50km/hour! Jeez, I've still got a way to go, but what Tour by the Sky team. Hats off and well done!
Eurosport commentator: 'A thousand years since they put a French king on the throne of England, an Englishman comes back and takes the throne of France'. Worthy of Stuart Hall. that. Great to watch well done the Brits.
Yes, well done Team Sky and Wiggins. Shows you that when the right people have control at the right time what can be achieved - Clive Woodward in 2003 another example although cycling a bigger achievemnt because it has been sustained for longer - now what about the football?
Mark Cavendish is a good time triallist, epecially shorter distances. He is always in the five of a TTT, as he belts along at a fair whack. He will not push it in a Grand Tour ITT because he's conserving his legs for future sprints, but if he didn't he'd get a considerably better time. It's a shame the Grand Tours don't demand more individualistic performances, like those of Merx, but big money means lead out trains and lead out trains mean wholly sprint specialist teams.
Olympic road race, don't really care about that, nice for the win but I'm not interested in non classic style stage racing. Can't wait for the Vuelta.
Ooo I would reckon Cav, Wiggo, Froome, Stannard and Millar care a hell of a lot, Cav is still sulking about being the only cyclist to leave Beijing without a Gold
Comments
Phenomenal positioning on the bike, no question he was the best out there just by looking at his rhythm on the bike. Whether it's looking at Contador from the helicopter changing pace uphill, Cancellara, Indurain or Brad in the TT, Cancellara's glorious downhill in the 2010 Tour, class is obvious; even if people use various methods.
If froome gets the chance to join another team i will be hoping Wiggins can defend his title and beat him.
Nothing against froome it’s just I prefer Wiggins and i think (though most think otherwise) he is overall the better cyclist.
Even if the whole team helped him he would be hours behind other cyclists by the end. Cav's team last year did not have a cyclist capable of winning the yellow jersey and so were set up just for Cav winning the sprinters jersey itself.
A yellow jersey winner doesn't have to be the best at anything but has to be strong at everything and consistent.
Britain number 1 in cycling. Only taken 99 years.
what a finish. for a minute i thought the breakaway might hold on.
Congratulations Brad
Congratulations Cav
Great lead out by the team, great team
Could be the first of a few times we hear the national anthem
so cringe worthy. Makes it all about her. She sickens me.
Just have the anthem next time.
Well done Sky Team, bring on the Olympics.
twitpic.com/aakn8y