theyoungest said:These big money teams know one thing, and that is money. Buy the best riders, buy the best trainers, buy the best equipment. But when it comes to actual bike racing, the kind that doesn't just involve a team time trial toward the finish, they're toast.
The last point is evidenced by their ongoing Classics disasters, though Henao did podium FW. But when it comes to stage races, they seem to be doing ok since start of 2012:
Tour de France x1
Dauphine x2
Tour of Norway x2
Paris-Nice x2
Romandie x2
Criterium International x1
Oman x1
and maybe others that don't leap to mind.
Not all of those involved a 'team time trial toward the finish', especially the ones Froome was involved with.
Also, Sky signed the following for 2013:
Jon Tiernan-Locke
Vasil Kiryienka
David Lopez
Josh Edmondson
Joe Dombrowski
Ian Boswell
Dario Cataldo
Gabriel Rasch
What % of those would you describe as 'the best'? They brought in team players and potential.