What should Sky do next?

[riobonito92]

Both in this tour and in the future - whither sky.

For this year getting a stage win would be a major achievement. For the medium term, I think they should go down the HTC route for a year or two - focus on sprinting (they have EBH, Henderson, Sutton) and pick up lots of wins while grooming someone for GC.

 

[Thee_chisa]

speak to dr ferrari

but seriously they are not getting paid to win stages, the grand plan is to win the tour. so they need to develop GT riders, and British GT riders at that as that is why sky have given them the cash

 

[Moondance]

Well, Sky do have the problem that they're contractually bound to pay Bradley Wiggins a fortune the next four years. That's going to seriously cramp their style, what with making new signings and all.

 

[Cobblestones]

Well, Sky do have the problem that they're contractually bound to pay Bradley Wiggins a fortune the next four years. That's going to seriously cramp their style, what with making new signings and all.

Wigans brilliance is showing. Sadly for sky, it's not on the road.

 

[Thee_chisa]

Wigans brilliance is showing. Sadly for sky, it's not on the road.

financial mastermind. he needs a kick up the **** i think. and the team selection for the tour was terrible IMO.

 

[SaftyCyclist]

They should advise Thomas Löfkvist and Wiggins to see if they can help one or both of them get into the top 15, that's all that's left on the GC front and may give them a bit more knowledge about that for the teams future riders.
The rest of the squad would gain a lot of press coverage in the UK if they tried to put Thomas in a position to win a transition stage, I think he's capable of that. Then on sprint stages that same group can work for Boasson Hagen in the finale, other teams will take up the challenge from a long way out, so they could spare a few for a train, maybe stick Wiggins in there if he's feeling ok.
Wasting a whole team on a top 15 isn't going to look very good, but a stage win would save this to some extent.
Wiggins had to give it a go, but realistically he's never going to make top 5 again, that games over, but he could take week long stage races.

 

[Anonymous]

I think you could say this for several teams.. there were a bunch of teams went in with dreams of a gc win, realistically only two will can.

I think brad will make back some time next week and finish top 10. About as expected. Still very impressed with geraints performance. That is sky future tour winner.

 

[hrotha]

I think you could say this for several teams.. there were a bunch of teams went in with dreams of a gc win, realistically only two will can.

I think brad will make back some time next week and finish top 10. About as expected. Still very impressed with geraints performance. That is sky future tour winner.

Sure way to ruin any chances he has. Pull a French press on Thomas and start applying pressure until he breaks?

 

[meandmygitane]

Spread the risks!

1. Let Wiggins and Löfkvist ride for their separate chances. I don't think it's a accident that they finish together yet again today, one of them are losing time in GC every time this happend.
Löfkvist+Wiggins was distanced by attack from Kreuziger near the top, that may be a minute lost. Similar thing during stage 8.

2a. Let one of Wiggins or Löfkvist go for breakaways and try to claw back time in the GC while the other sits in the bunch.

2b. Or let Löfkvist go for GC in any way he wants and Wiggins saving energy for the TT-stage.

3. With the exception of Flecha, let the other Sky team mates go on breakaways or setting up Boasson Hagen for the sprint since they are no help in the mountains.

What happened to mountain domestique Serge Pauwels? Big disappointment.

 

[Cobblestones]

financial mastermind. he needs a kick up the **** i think. and the team selection for the tour was terrible IMO.

It will bite them in several ways. Not only do they have a lame duck which will cost them a fortune for another three years, also, everybody else who's riding on the same level or better within the team, will demand a similar or even higher salary. It's not going to do any good for the team spirit. I see them losing riders right, left, and center in the coming years.

 

[meandmygitane]

Where is the climbing skills then?

I think you could say this for several teams.. there were a bunch of teams went in with dreams of a gc win, realistically only two will can.

I think brad will make back some time next week and finish top 10. About as expected. Still very impressed with geraints performance. That is sky future tour winner.

Neither Geraint Thomas or Edvald Boasson Hagen (sorry all norwegians ) has shown that they have climbing capabilities needed for becoming top 20 in the GC of a Grand Tour. Maybe they will, or more likely, maybe they won't.

Flecha is climbing better than either of them atm!

(If British hopes are unreasonable for Geraint, the norwegian hopes are bordering on delusional (in this years tour: multiple stage wins for both EBH and Hushovd, yellow jersey for Thor the first 5-6 stages, EBH finishing with the best climbers in the high mountains et c.)

 

[BroDeal]

They should ask Garmin for a refund.

 

[ingsve]

Well, one thing they should do if they want to be serious about having a tour winner by 2014 is to learn all they can in all ways. Tactically, preparationally, what types or riders are needed and how they should act on stages etc. They might even want to experiment a little in order to learn.

 

[palmerq]

Still very impressed with geraints performance. That is sky future tour winner.

What has geraint done to be called this? Going from this tour he doesn't look like one... although maybe he has previous good results..... but he is about an hour down after doing a good prologue and did well in the cobble stage... but hushovd and cancellara can do this..

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

1. Let Wiggins and Löfkvist ride for their separate chances. I don't think it's a accident that they finish together yet again today, one of them are losing time in GC every time this happend.
Löfkvist+Wiggins was distanced by attack from Kreuziger near the top, that may be a minute lost. Similar thing during stage 8.

Lövkvist was following Ryder on stage 8 until he was forced to assist Bradley which cost him about 45s. Not sure about today's stage but he looked pretty spent by the finish line.

 

[ingsve]

Lövkvist was following Ryder on stage 8 until he was forced to assist Bradley which cost him about 45s. Not sure about today's stage but he looked pretty spent by the finish line.

Right after Evans had dropped but before the peloton split into a million pieces, Wiggins was the one that got dropped first today. Once the attacks came Löfkvist didn't follow either so it's likely that Löfkvist worked for Wiggins the rest of the day.

 

[jfo-ny]

epic fail

rupert murdoch + wiggins = fail. look at the riders on the team - seriously, not a GT contender in sight, and except for EBH not a single day rider either. Wiggo got lucky with a soft course and negative (LA & astana) tactics last year. The brit mgmt in the car is typical $$ mgmt style - clueless as carly fiorina at HP. winning a few track medals aint pro cycling caliber at the GT level. They will need different riders and a more humble attitude to win at the pro game. More than likely they will get cavendish and his crappy attitude next year - win a few sprints and fold their tent after 2012. I've been laughing at sky and wiggo hype all year and it just keeps getting better.

 

[Anonymous]

I can't really imagine there are too many truly surprised by Wiggins.

Last year was a fluke. I think most realized this. This just confirms how much difference there is from being a revelation to being a team leader.

 

[D Avoid]

I think you could say this for several teams.. there were a bunch of teams went in with dreams of a gc win, realistically only two will can.

I think brad will make back some time next week and finish top 10. About as expected. Still very impressed with geraints performance. That is sky future tour winner.

No he's not, Peter Kennaugh is, he is the maddest, most single minded dude I ever saw on or off a bike, since Chav'n'swish, they are friends from IOM and their bond is, that winning is the only option. Also , his his younger brother,Tim, will be joining him in a couple of years.

 

[hrotha]

and except for EBH not a single day rider either

Flecha.

Anyway, I feel this is unfair towards Wiggins. What was he supposed to do? What would you have done in his position? Laugh at Sky for the hype or whatever, but Wiggins has done nothing to be made fun of as far as I know. He's doing about as well as could realistically be expected, just slightly worse.

 

[Cobblestones]

Flecha.

Anyway, I feel this is unfair towards Wiggins. What was he supposed to do? What would you have done in his position? Laugh at Sky for the hype or whatever, but Wiggins has done nothing to be made fun of as far as I know. He's doing about as well as could realistically be expected, just slightly worse.

Admit it, his Wigans comment was funny.

 

[Anonymous]

Neither Geraint Thomas or Edvald Boasson Hagen (sorry all norwegians ) has shown that they have climbing capabilities needed for becoming top 20 in the GC of a Grand Tour. Maybe they will, or more likely, maybe they won't.

Flecha is climbing better than either of them atm!

(If British hopes are unreasonable for Geraint, the norwegian hopes are bordering on delusional (in this years tour: multiple stage wins for both EBH and Hushovd, yellow jersey for Thor the first 5-6 stages, EBH finishing with the best climbers in the high mountains et c.)

Geraint came in in the george hincapie group today, but both are just turning the wheels. Geraint is young. Hes got plenty of time on his side.

 

[SaftyCyclist]

The Sky tactic of turning a pursuiter into a GT rider hasn't worked, doubt they'll focus too much on trying to do that again, this time to Thomas and blunt his power, as Wiggins seemed blunted by too much weight loss. The rider they have coming through is Peter Kennaugh, he's the most obvious choice for them, he's done well on the track but does not have the large build to get rid of, if they're serious about doing well in GC they need to concentrate on these types of riders. It's going to be long term though, Sky will be looking for results pretty soon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kennaugh

 

[hrotha]

Admit it, his Wigans comment was funny.

I wouldn't know, I didn't get the Carly Fiorina reference :\

 

[Anonymous]

No he's not, Kennaugh is, he is the maddest, most single minded dude I ever saw on or off a bike, since Chav'n'swish, they friends from IOM and their bond is that, winning is the only option.

Well Kennaugh as well, but he is four years away.. I think G and Loflvist will be the focus of the team for the next three years while they get kennaugh up to speed. I rate G above brad, in my mind he is the best british rider currently on the squad, Kennaugh will be.This is G's first 100% road season (where have we heard that before), his dauphine was impressive, see how he does next year in dauphine, small tours etc.

Kennaugh is the single most talent in british cycling but im wary to hype the guy up. Hes going to get a lot of pressure on him over the next couple of years, will be interseting to see how he handles it. At the moment he is pretty well sheilded away, he doesnt spout rubbish on twitter like phiney etc. hope he stays that way