(Dis) respect for Le Maillot Jaune

[Wiggins_Sideburn]

I think it was a heat of the moment thing from froomedog today.

 

[UpTheRoad]

Froome looked back towards Wiggins almost as much as he looked down at his handlebars (thanks for nothing to the poster who noticed this first and pointed it out ).

He could have been a bit more subtle. Wiggins didn't deserve that from his own teammate.

 

[gthx_gthx_]

I haven't seen today stage , but if Froome is better then i think it will be shown anyway. Because Wiggins is quite struggling in his wheel , and Froome is taking the wind in his face. Froome is clearly superior and he made his job.

Wiggins isn't the best in the mountain , Froome is. If Wiggo wants to be respected then he just has to be the best...

As for the comparison between Schleck , Contador and Froome , maybe he is not as good as the other two , but he is clearly superior on TT.

 

[Christian]

I think Froome must have been frustrated because he only wanted to attack with around 2 km to go IIRC. He could have easily caught Valverde and gotten a prestigious stage win. And Wigans wasn't all that bad either so he would have finished at the most 30 seconds ahead of him.

With an advantage over 2 minutes this is certainly something Wigans could have spared. If Froome had attacked right from the start of the climb it would have been a real coup d'état. But IMO this was purely for the stage win.

But Wigans didn't let him go because it would have made him look bad. So Froome must have thought "Well if I can't win the stage I can still make you look bad"

 

[jsem94]

Froome should have been allowed to go for the stage.

 

[ericthesportsman6]

I'm not sure why Froome didn't ride away. There was no reason for him not to. Wiggins was in no danger.

 

[Wiggins_Sideburn]

I do not get the need to respect a yellow colour jersey like it is your national flag.

 

[piemonster]

It's awful how nationalistic cycling is becoming. To many it doesn't matter the nationality of their favourite cyclists or even care if the winner comes from Antarctica but the bickering and racism coming from all camps these last few years has been awful.
Spanish, British and Australian fans & media are dragging the sport through the dirt, it's getting to be as bad as soccer.

I'd go with that, being British it's never really something I'd come across in cycling until recently

The Team Sky focus on getting a British(ish) winner probably isnt helping

 

[piemonster]

Are we really sure it was Wiggins that held Froome back. I'd suspect that baldy bloke Brailsford made that decision

 

[180mmCrank]

I don't know who is 'better'. It certainly looks like Froome has better jump in the mountains. AND it was a little imature to see him jumping around infront of BW in the latter part of the climb today.

BUT remember it is BW that is wearing Yellow ... he has the responsibility of leadership .... he is the one who has carried the Jersey and everything that goes with it. BW will be the one having less sleep becuase of the pressure not CF. It is a lot easier mentally (and ultimately physically) to be the second i/c rather than the leader.

Not everyone will agree but IMHO it's a different game to be in BW's shoes and we will see how good CF is when he has to carry the responsibility himself - next year?

 

[PeterB]

I wonder do we know that Sky actually did not let him go? Because really, from the look of it, Wiggins was safe 2 km before finish and would hardly lose more than 30 seconds, so why keep them together?
And as they crossed the penultimate mountain it seemed to me as if Wiggins showed Froome that he can go if he wants,but that Froome waved back something like that he doesn't have the legs...

 

[180mmCrank]

I wonder do we know that Sky actually did not let him go? Because really, from the look of it, Wiggins was safe 2 km before finish and would hardly lose more than 30 seconds, so why keep them together?
And as they crossed the penultimate mountain it seemed to me as if Wiggins showed Froome that he can go if he wants,but that Froome waved back something like that he doesn't have the legs...[/quote]

I saw that too

I suspect there was a lot going on ... some of which we could see and some of which we will never fully understand ... but it's fun to speculate!

 

[King Of The Wolds]

What a storm in a teacup. A display of unity between a man who's the race's best climber and second best TTer and a man who's the second best climber and best TTer. Had Froome not punctured early, we'll never know who would have been the victor. Who cares? The race would still have dominated by the Sky train.

By the way, this business about the British presspreferring a true British winner is nonsense. They'll back a winner. See Kevin Pietersen .

 

[180mmCrank]

I wonder do we know that Sky actually did not let him go? Because really, from the look of it, Wiggins was safe 2 km before finish and would hardly lose more than 30 seconds, so why keep them together?
And as they crossed the penultimate mountain it seemed to me as if Wiggins showed Froome that he can go if he wants,but that Froome waved back something like that he doesn't have the legs...

I saw that too

I suspect there was a lot going on ... some of which we could see and some of which we will never fully understand ... but it's fun to speculate!

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

I think that's called immaturity....

If so, it's the immaturity common to all top level competitive athletes.

Froome is paid to sacrifice his own chance to help Wiggins win. He isn't paid to like it. He isn't paid to be obsequious. He isn't paid to pretend that Wiggins is the stronger of the two. He did what he was paid to do.

 

[Flamin]

 

[personal]

Respect? You earn it by being the strongest. Or at least by being fair and generous. Wiggins wasn't really any of it and that made Froome frustrated.
He is paid well I guess, but he is also the man watching two chances in GTs going wasted.
IIRC there was some talk about Sky going with strongest rider, so it is not like he was hired just to work for Wiggins.

 

[Benotti69]

As I stated before, it's like Sky is playing racist, just like they want the pure British breed to win the Tour for the first time.

What they did during this Tour really vilify the entire sport.

Wiggin's was born in Belgium and his Dad is Australian!

 

[mewmewmew13]

If so, it's the immaturity common to all top level competitive athletes.

Froome is paid to sacrifice his own chance to help Wiggins win. He isn't paid to like it. He isn't paid to be obsequious. He isn't paid to pretend that Wiggins is the stronger of the two. He did what he was paid to do.

I've been around long enough to know that if you don't learn how to control your emotions you won't become a top level competitive athlete ...sometimes the mental edge is all you've got.

But I respectfully differ with your opinion.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

I've been around long enough to know that if you don't learn how to control your emotions you won't become a top level competitive athlete ...sometimes the mental edge is all you've got.

But I respectfully differ with your opinion.

1) Froome is already a top level competitive athlete, with two podiums in the last two GTs.

2) Who says it was uncontrolled emotion rather than someone making a calculated point? Wiggins will be in a very strong position next year to demand leadership in any race he wants, as a Tour winner. Froome's actions make it clear to everyone that Wiggins is Tour champion on his sufferance. He's dropped him twice now and both times he's waited and done the job he's paid to do. Given that team orders prevent him from winning the Tour, that's making the most of the hand he's dealt. He's not crossing the team, but he is hammering home that he's the future and Wiggins win is a one off.

 

[The Tibetan Hat]

As if that exaggerated radio response up La Toussuire wasn't bad enough.

Can't believe Froome's chutzpah. Did you ever see a super-dom gesturing to his team leader to maintain pace on a summit finish like that, or even one contender doing it to another? Not even the hottest rivals behave like that. Disrespect hardly covers it. And so obviously done for the television cameras too. Why go for a quick look, a nod, one word 'stay?' or 'go?' with your team leader, when you can wave your hand around for all the world to see?
Sure it's an unusual GC situation but he knew Wiggins couldn't assist in the attack, so that behaviour had to be all about embarrassing his own leader (who was actually still having a great ride for a TT man!).

Froome would have made what, 20 or 30 seconds on Wiggins in that last kilometre? Probably less time than Wiggins will take out of him in the TT, and for that matter less than Froome will take out of Nibbles too.

And you know, Froome's lucky he starts 3 minutes ahead on Saturday, too far for Wiggins to catch him, because it'd would have been nice to see what sort of hand gesture Bradders could have offered Froome had he chance of passing him. I can think of a one-handed one that would suffice.

Say what you will about Wiggins, at least he's an honest racer. There's no honour in how Froome dramatises on the bike, nor in the weasels words he issues to the press. And in this sport honour matters a lot more than it does in any other.

 

[stampedingviking]

Is it just me but is everyone ignoring that both riders have said that Froome was encoraging Wiggins because Wiggins had emotionally 'lost it' for a while as the enormity of everything had set in?

Just another chance to have a dig at Sky/Wiggins

 

[Herr Katt]

The tibian hat... great post

 

[ingsve]

How was the strength relationship between Riis and Ullrich in 1996? Was Riis clearly stronger than Ullrich at that point or was the situation a bit similar to Froome and Wiggins?

 

[Lucky1]

Great post

If is that exaggerated radio response up La Toussuire wasn't bad enough.

Can't believe Froome's chutzpah. Did you ever see a super-dom gesturing to his team leader to maintain pace on a summit finish like that, or even one contender doing it to another? Not even the hottest rivals behave like that. Disrespect hardly covers it. And so obviously done for the television cameras too. Why go for a quick look, a nod, one word 'stay?' or 'go?' with your team leader, when you can wave your hand around for all the world to see?
Sure it's an unusual GC situation but he knew Wiggins couldn't assist in the attack, so that behaviour had to be all about embarrassing his own leader (who was actually still having a great ride for a TT man!).

Froome would have made what, 20 or 30 seconds on Wiggins in that last kilometre? Probably less time than Wiggins will take out of him in the TT, and for that matter less than Froome will take out of Nibbles too.

And you know, Froome's lucky he starts 3 minutes ahead on Saturday, too far for Wiggins to catch him, because it'd would have been nice to see what sort of hand gesture Bradders could have offered Froome had he chance of passing him. I can think of a one-handed one that would suffice.

Say what you will about Wiggins, at least he's an honest racer. There's no honour in how Froome dramatises on the bike, nor in the weasels words he issues to the press. And in this sport honour matters a lot more than it does in any other.

Great post