Team GB worlds nightmare

[rhubroma]

This commentary by Paolo Bettini in today's Gazzetta dello Sport succinctly expresses why British cycling has its limits (though the imperious style of racing, which is effective at the Tour, but not elsewhere, especially in one-day races, began with US Postal) and why the romantic style of racing is unfortunately on the wane. It's also why, in the age of hyper-commercialization at the Tour, this style of racing is producing champions, who, without the numbers and the radio-link, tele-commanding of the team by the DS, don't know how to race their bikes like the champions of old.

Bettini: “I admire the British for what they have done in cycling, however, the races aren’t only watts and power outputs, but fantasy, resourcefulness, courage and opportunism. In bad weather they get lost, because they can’t rely upon a strategy of dictating the law based on the power outputs of their riders. It’s much simpler for them to manage a grand tour, dividing for example the climbs up into sectors among their various riders and use power numbers to make the selection. Cycling, though, is also something else.”

 

[JRanton]

Here's Geraint Thomas's take on what went wrong at the Worlds:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/24395592

Interesting bit on Wiggo too:

And I did speak to Sir Bradley Wiggins after the descent down San Baronto (after 58km of the 272km race) because he went from the front to pretty much the back of the bunch.

Mentally he has got a bit of an issue about riding in the rain after crashing in this year's Giro d'Italia.

So I told him that, if he wanted to, he could do his work early on. Riding on the front of a race is easier than trying to fight in the wheels of a big bunch of riders when you have to deal with wet roads and tight corners.

He was about to do that, but then we hit some corners and nobody saw him again. I am still not sure what happened to him, because I did not see him afterwards.

So Wiggins didn't even wait to speak to the team after he DNF'd. National hero, indeed.

 

[JimmyFingers]

Yes, lets throw him under the bus for one poor showing at the Worlds. What a choker, that performance should erase everything he has achieved so far.

Ask Cav why he won the Rainbow hoops: he will say it was the teamwork that achieved it. I remember Wiggins putting a scorching stint at the front in the closing kilometres, one of the most impressive rides I have seen from him.

But let the facts get in the way of a good character assassination. Next stop you'll be writing for the Daily Mail, who have already chucked him under the bus.

 

[hrotha]

It's much easier to be a top bloke and a gentleman when everything's going your way, really.

 

[The Hitch]

It's much easier to be a top bloke and a gentleman when everything's going your way, really.

Maybe, but for Wiggins it seems only marginally easier

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Yes, lets throw him under the bus for one poor showing at the Worlds. What a choker, that performance should erase everything he has achieved so far.

Ask Cav why he won the Rainbow hoops: he will say it was the teamwork that achieved it. I remember Wiggins putting a scorching stint at the front in the closing kilometres, one of the most impressive rides I have seen from him.

But let the facts get in the way of a good character assassination. Next stop you'll be writing for the Daily Mail, who have already chucked him under the bus.

how about the giro this year

 

[EnacheV]

Team GB has no nightmare

No1 team, rider, No2 or 3 nation according to different metrics

Team GB is a nightmare for others