Team Ineos (Formerly the Sky thread)

[bpickford]

This a hugely different parcours, and against better riders and teams. I honestly think Sky were flattered by the opposition: BMC were disorganised and perhaps split by the Van Garderen/Evans axis, and Liguigas just looked below par. I think Sky would have been blown away by Contador/Saxobank, like they are being now.

Completely agreed. The other teams in the Tour were a shambles, clearly not as well prepared or as strong as Sky (in a non-doping sense...).

 

[hrotha]

Ah yes, the "everybody botched their peaks" explanation. No one was peaking for Paris-Nice, no one was peaking for Romandie, no one was peaking for Dauphiné, because everybody was peaking for the Tour. But once there, no one was peaking for the Tour either. Only Sky.

It doesn't add up. Especially not when Sky's domestiques were so strong.

 

[bpickford]

Ah yes, the "everybody botched their peaks" explanation. No one was peaking for Paris-Nice, no one was peaking for Romandie, no one was peaking for Dauphiné, because everybody was peaking for the Tour. But once there, no one was peaking for the Tour either. Only Sky.

It doesn't add up. Especially not when Sky's domestiques were so strong.

That's not what I said, but feel free to continue to quote the same argument that's been repeated many times on this thread. Yawn.

 

[hrotha]

That's not what I said, but feel free to continue to quote the same argument that's been repeated many times on this thread. Yawn.

You said Sky was better prepared than the rest, in a non-doping way. That can only be if everyone else failed to peak properly.

The alternative you offered (that Sky is simply stronger than everybody else) is extremely far-fetched in light of the previous performances of their riders and the fact that they all were at their all-time best at the same time.

 

[cineteq]

That's not what I said, but feel free to continue to quote the same argument that's been repeated many times on this thread. Yawn.

Turning the blind eye to the obvious is always an option. Yawn.

 

[ebandit]

look

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins-i-didnt-enjoy-the-tour-de-france

look what you guys have done..............spoilt brad's tour!

now if only brad had shown consistency in his actions/answers with greater transparency?

 

[Walkman]

I just think Froome is cooked. Dope or no dope, there are limits to what you can do before being just too tired. Before the Vuelta even began I warned not to jump to conclusions just because he wasn't good, because that doesn't erase what we've already seen.

Spot on!

Some people here does not seems to understand that riding a GT and maintaining good form over the Olymoics will cause you to loose form due to fatigue.

People saying AC would have blown away SKY at the Tour are so wrong they are almost disqualifying themselvs from further discussion. It took, what 10 stages before they could drop Froome and take som reasonable time on him. Froome in Tour form would have won this Vuelta easily.

 

[richtea]

Ah yes, the "everybody botched their peaks" explanation. No one was peaking for Paris-Nice, no one was peaking for Romandie, no one was peaking for Dauphiné, because everybody was peaking for the Tour. But once there, no one was peaking for the Tour either. Only Sky.

It doesn't add up. Especially not when Sky's domestiques were so strong.

Your point is slightly unfair, its a bit unrealistic to say Sky dominated PN and Romandie. Wiggins won the first thanks firstly to the wind affected stage putting a lot of riders out of contention and then was run very close by Westra in that TT. Wiggins to me looked pretty bad in Romandie, but it was such an unselective course it simply came down the TT - and he lucked out that LL Sanchez was so poor. I wouldn't say these two races can be categorised in the same way as Dauphine and Tour.

 

[Walkman]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins-i-didnt-enjoy-the-tour-de-france

look what you guys have done..............spoilt brad's tour!

now if only brad had shown consistency in his actions/answers with greater transparency?

I used to like Wiggins back in 2009 and I really believed in him, when most people here said he never would manage to do a decent GT after soft pedaling with LA along France but this is crazy.

Wiggins has become such a tool! Dude's a real w**ker.

 

[Ferminal]

I think Sky would have been blown away by Contador/Saxobank, like they are being now.

Porte and Rogers on Joux Plane > anything Navarro and Hernandez have done for years.

 

[hiero2]

'The drugs were dished out by Armstrong to teammates in white lunch bags after stages of the famous French race'

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/the_inside_dope_wVH5SsdUpW4oUgENUCNExO#ixzz25Pzigq7B

This reminded me of 2 musettes that I have of Astana from 2009. They were given to me by the soigneur of the team at the end of a stage. They had the riders names on the musettes...I got Contador and Paulinho...the musettes were empty...but when i showed them to a soigneur of another team..Vacansoleil i think..he said that that was really weird...having the names on the musettes.

Do Sky do this ? anyone seen a musette that they are given and discarded along the route ?

Naw, man, why would that be wierd at all? Different riders like different stuff in their musettes! Back when I used to help support a small local team, many years ago, we used to make up different musettes for each rider. And that was pre-epo (which we couldn't have afforded anyway). One guy wants a p-nut butter sandwich, the other an energy bar. Having the name on the musette is meaningless by itself.

 

[Benotti69]

I think Sky have taken a very cautious approach to this years Vuelta, either fearing Spanish authorities targeting them or believing Froome had enough in the tank, as they did not percieve the strength of Contador, Purito and Piti to be that juiced.

But I think they have been cautious because their doms are not blue training anything near what they did in the TdF.

Or it could be they didn't want to be dominant after all the talk of the UKPostal, so have not done the same 'preparation' or brought nothing to the race.

 

[BrentonOfTheNorth]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins-i-didnt-enjoy-the-tour-de-france

look what you guys have done..............spoilt brad's tour!

now if only brad had shown consistency in his actions/answers with greater transparency?

Reeks of guilt.

 

[Benotti69]

Reeks of guilt.

Yeah for a guy who in 2007 was bemonaing the doping, he should've been happy to discuss how it has changed and how he was doing it clean.

I notice he hasn't tweeted anything about La Vuelta. Bet he is watching that and thinking they all upped their 'game'. He aint gonna win nothing again. 1999 all over when USpostal blew everyone away so everyone went back to their doctors.

Guilty.

 

[maltiv]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins-i-didnt-enjoy-the-tour-de-france

look what you guys have done..............spoilt brad's tour!

now if only brad had shown consistency in his actions/answers with greater transparency?

Vaugthers used to say he didn't enjoy his Dauphine MTT win, because he couldn't feel good about winning when he was cheating.

Now Wiggins is saying he didn't have fun at the TDF...I don't know, either he is feeling guilty, or he is just really sensitive about doping accusations. In that case, he's a giant hypocrite as he used to be a voice against doping himself.

Either way, he's a ******.

 

[JRanton]

Bart de Clercq beat Froome on a mountain top finish yesterday. There's no evidence that anyone has ''upped their game'', only that Froome has quite obviously faded during the Vuelta and isn't close to the level he had at the Tour. Froome was matching the Spaniards in the first week and even put time into Conatdor and Valverde on the climb to Jaca.

 

[JRanton]

Vaugthers used to say he didn't enjoy his Dauphine MTT win, because he couldn't feel good about winning when he was cheating.

Now Wiggins is saying he didn't have fun at the TDF...I don't know, either he is feeling guilty, or he is just really sensitive about doping accusations. In that case, he's a giant hypocrite as he used to be a voice against doping himself.

Either way, he's a ******.

There's a difference, Wiggins was a voice against riders who had actually tested positive for doping. Wiggins and Sky haven't tested positive for anything and might well be clean so I'm not surprised he didn't enjoy the doping talk and suspicion. Would you like it if people were questioning your performances when you knew you were riding clean? I know I wouldn't. I'm not sure how I'd react when asked about it in that situation, because like everyone else in this forum, I've never been in the yellow jersey as the favourite to win the Tour De France.

 

[Benotti69]

Bart de Clercq beat Froome on a mountain top finish yesterday. There's no evidence that anyone has ''upped their game'', only that Froome has quite obviously faded during the Vuelta and isn't close to the level he had at the Tour. Froome was matching the Spaniards in the first week and even put time into Conatdor and Valverde on the climb to Jaca.

I offered the idea that Sky were not going to risk getting caught at La Vuelta by Spanish Authorities looking to address the balance against Contador.

But Purito has upped his game. Contador has not changed his but has not had the racing needed to reach his true 'level'.

Froome yeah tired, and there is only so much doping the body can take before it starts to shut down. Sky have slaved Froome for Wiggins, now he is paying.

Will they do the same next year? Will Froome be given the TdF leadership? Will Wiggin's ego let him have it?

 

[Benotti69]

There's a difference, Wiggins was a voice against riders who had actually tested positive for doping. Wiggins and Sky haven't tested positive for anything and might well be clean so I'm not surprised he didn't enjoy the doping talk and suspicion. Would you like it if people were questioning your performances when you knew you were riding clean? I know I wouldn't. I'm not sure how I'd react when asked about it in that situation, because like everyone else in this forum, I've never been in the yellow jersey as the favourite to win the Tour De France.

those days are gone.

He has been asked to speak out by David Walsh about the doping investigation as he is the Patron of the peloton being the TdF winner.

Now would be a good time to write something in the Guardain, but nah, why would he do that? Got another clothes shoot to do or gig to go too. Not bothered about he biggest investigation into doping in the history of his sport.

 

[The Tibetan Hat]

Do we know if Wiggins said anything more than 'it [USADA taking down LA] is bad for cycling' to this Belgian newspaper?
To completely over-analyse just four words worth of an answer, it is exactly the same thing being said by all those pros who'd rather see no change, no investigation and have LA left a champion.

 

[Mellow Velo]

I offered the idea that Sky were not going to risk getting caught at La Vuelta by Spanish Authorities looking to address the balance against Contador.

Nothing to do with Sky/Froome, but of interest, do we know if the Spanish authorities are doing parallel testing, or have the UCI shut the door on them, same as the French?

 

[TourOfSardinia]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins-i-didnt-enjoy-the-tour-de-france

“I’m still Olympic champion in that discipline for the next four years,” Wiggins pointed out. “No, if I started the time trial, I’d want to do it in the best condition possible and that’s not the case at the moment. I’m not that fresh any more. In the road race, I’ll put myself at the service of the team.”

So SKY swimming team is not 80% all year round then. Disappointed.

 

[Telmisartan new]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins-i-didnt-enjoy-the-tour-de-france


So SKY swimming team is not 80% all year round then. Disappointed.

So am i.Hardly surprising Wiggins isnt that fresh any more though, he's been smoking like a chimney,knocking back the beers at pop concerts and he hasn't had a "break" in the Canary Islands for a while.

 

[Benotti69]

Nothing to do with Sky/Froome, but of interest, do we know if the Spanish authorities are doing parallel testing, or have the UCI shut the door on them, same as the French?

I was think Spanish Police, more than the testing.

I would be interested to know if the SpanishADA are testing.

I also would be interested to know if Sky made a similar presentation to La Vuelta the way it did to La Tour.

 

[JimmyFingers]

Vaugthers used to say he didn't enjoy his Dauphine MTT win, because he couldn't feel good about winning when he was cheating.

Now Wiggins is saying he didn't have fun at the TDF...I don't know, either he is feeling guilty, or he is just really sensitive about doping accusations. In that case, he's a giant hypocrite as he used to be a voice against doping himself.

Either way, he's a ******.

You should hear what he thinks of you. Oh no wait, you already have