Wigans goes there. Cadence!

[martinvickers]

I still can't understand why the UK public voted Wiggins the Sports Personality of the Year when he has chosen not to be UK-branded any more.. surely as a taxpayer in the Caymen Islands and not paying a bean in the UK he should have stood as the 2012 Caymen Islands Sports Personality of the Year... I mean who pays for the ambulance when a cyclist hits a pothole in Lancashire and injures himself? who pays for kids in state schools to have teachers in Lancashire? Not sodding former UK citizens who now thing they are something else and can sit looking at their millions in some sunny land.

Did he not end his involvement with TwoFold in November, before the vote?

 

[The Hitch]

Coming 4th in that field in 2009 (even without starting as team leader as he apparently did) will have surely given him at least the inkling that it would be possible to win it one day.

2010 was horrible, not least because no-one at Sky at the time was focussing on developing rider fitness, following the standard, at the time, dictum that that was the responsibility of the riders and Wiggins was going through one of his irresponsible phases.

2011 he was on the sort of form that would have probably seen him podium the Tour before he broke his collarbone, and 2012 was a year when everything came together and he even managed to ride through the same pot hole as Froome on that early stage while not suffering a puncture as his team mate did.

Prior to 2009 he had accepted that he would never achieve that particular childhood dream of winning the Tour, (from his book) and after that 4th place suddenly he had hope. We can argue all day about whether the change in his ambition was due to diet, belief and luck, or the rest of the peloton reducing their dependence on the doping for whatever reason, or Wiggins himself crossing to the dark side after all his history of outspokenness on the subject, In my opinion it is a combination of the first two, in many peoples in this forum it is the latter.

In 2009 he was still a domestique at heart, and had to be forcefully trained to actually live with the heads of state on a few stages at the Giro that year. He still seems to lack the killer instinct that makes him want to win races although I noticed some signs in Catalunya this year particularly with the descent attack that he is maybe finally learning this skill and in my opinion again he has never prior to this year learned to be comfortable against anything other than the clock. He only won the tour when his team managed to convert that feat into numbers for him and circumstances aligned so that it all worked out according to plan.

Yes it was a tour suited to him with 100km of TT.

Yes he had a team-mate strong enough to win it himself who eventually came 2nd by about three minutes over third place, and helped pace him over the last few km of the mountain stages.

None of that invalidates what he did, turning himself from a pure chrono man whether over 4km or 40km into an all rounder capable of winning a Tour in the right circumstances.

I think he genuinely was 'trying' to win the Tour in 2010, but without the necessary base fitness due to lack of training. In 2011 he had the fitness but probably had lost too much weight and would have only podiumed at best if he hadn't been injured in the crash. In 2012 at a couple of kilos heavier he had the resilience to make it through the (relatively easy) race with a strong team supporting him.

I know I'm only a Johnny come Lately fan of road racing but I can read and make my own mind up. I commend him for deciding to go for another challenge rather than following the Tour Only template of LA etc. His attempt at the Giro came to naught but he had always stated prior to the race that Nibali was the favourite on his home ground and no-one could have predicted the conditions being as bad as they were.

I want to see him going for some one day challenges next year and maybe the year after before switching to a track team pursuit/road TT attempt on Rio because that is where I think he'd be happiest. I think Cav was right, he's not a natural born winner, but I think he's done enough over the last 13 years to prove himself one of the most physically gifted cyclists of his generation. Although in competition in IP he didn't beat 4:15, before the virus 5 weeks pre-Beijing he was originally targetting 4:12 which is a different kettle of fish, power wise, and the evidence that that improvement was on the cards dates back to his 2007 blogs, notably during his outspoken period.

Oh, and Froome is not Merckx, I'm not even convinced yet he can take this TdF and am half expecting Saxo and Contador to take him to the cleaners which as a Sky fan is an uncomfortable feeling.

No Wiggins is not different to lance in targetting the giro. Its clear that the reason he did the giro was because sky made up their mind that froome would be leader for the tour. Not once until then did Wiggins give 2 ****s about the giro. He saw it as a glorified prep race and when asked in 2010 whether he would like to go for it if he couldnt win the tour he said he'd rather challenge at the tour than win the giro.

then months after he wins the tour sky staff are in the press urging Wiggins to do the giro and everyone says froome will be the leader for the tour Wiggins all of a sudden says he wants to win the giro, doesn't bother preparing for it then quits halfway through saying it's ok anyway cos he can focus on the tour again.
His behaviour over the last few months clearly shows that the giro was forced on him and that he very much has the tour only mentality which not only la but pretty much every rider who comes from a country where the sport is very small, hold.

don't really get what your post is about anyway. I said that wigggins was only "trying to win the tour" for 3 years ( 2 if we ignore sponsor rhetoric) and not as the soviet inspired sky revisionism claims - always.

 

[thehog]

I still can't understand why the UK public voted Wiggins the Sports Personality of the Year when he has chosen not to be UK-branded any more.. surely as a taxpayer in the Caymen Islands and not paying a bean in the UK he should have stood as the 2012 Caymen Islands Sports Personality of the Year... I mean who pays for the ambulance when a cyclist hits a pothole in Lancashire and injures himself? who pays for kids in state schools to have teachers in Lancashire? Not sodding former UK citizens who now thing they are something else and can sit looking at their millions in some sunny land.

Companies House records show Wiggins joined Twofold on March 13 this year. On the same day, the Treasury issued a strongly-worded press release referring to an ‘abusive’ tax avoidance scheme’ without naming it. Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said it had shut down a ‘contrived’ scheme being marketed at the time, and that it would challenge any others put together before March 13.
‘The scheme  .  .  .  used artificial transactions to generate tax relief from a property business that owns agricultural land,’ said the Treasury at the time.

Naughty.

....

 

[the sceptic]

Got to be a mistake. British people wouldnt cheat on their taxes

 

[Afrank]

I still can't understand why the UK public voted Wiggins the Sports Personality of the Year when he has chosen not to be UK-branded any more.. surely as a taxpayer in the Caymen Islands and not paying a bean in the UK he should have stood as the 2012 Caymen Islands Sports Personality of the Year... I mean who pays for the ambulance when a cyclist hits a pothole in Lancashire and injures himself? who pays for kids in state schools to have teachers in Lancashire? Not sodding former UK citizens who now thing they are something else and can sit looking at their millions in some sunny land.

Doubt the majority of the UK public cares that much about Wiggins taxes, just that he wins while riding for and wearing the national colors.

 

[BroDeal]

Coming 4th in that field in 2009 (even without starting as team leader as he apparently did) will have surely given him at least the inkling that it would be possible to win it one day.

2010 was horrible, not least because no-one at Sky at the time was focussing on developing rider fitness, following the standard, at the time, dictum that that was the responsibility of the riders and Wiggins was going through one of his irresponsible phases.

2011 he was on the sort of form that would have probably seen him podium the Tour before he broke his collarbone, and 2012 was a year when everything came together and he even managed to ride through the same pot hole as Froome on that early stage while not suffering a puncture as his team mate did.

Prior to 2009 he had accepted that he would never achieve that particular childhood dream of winning the Tour, (from his book) and after that 4th place suddenly he had hope. We can argue all day about whether the change in his ambition was due to diet, belief and luck, or the rest of the peloton reducing their dependence on the doping for whatever reason, or Wiggins himself crossing to the dark side after all his history of outspokenness on the subject, In my opinion it is a combination of the first two, in many peoples in this forum it is the latter.

In 2009 he was still a domestique at heart, and had to be forcefully trained to actually live with the heads of state on a few stages at the Giro that year. He still seems to lack the killer instinct that makes him want to win races although I noticed some signs in Catalunya this year particularly with the descent attack that he is maybe finally learning this skill and in my opinion again he has never prior to this year learned to be comfortable against anything other than the clock. He only won the tour when his team managed to convert that feat into numbers for him and circumstances aligned so that it all worked out according to plan.

Yes it was a tour suited to him with 100km of TT.

Yes he had a team-mate strong enough to win it himself who eventually came 2nd by about three minutes over third place, and helped pace him over the last few km of the mountain stages.

None of that invalidates what he did, turning himself from a pure chrono man whether over 4km or 40km into an all rounder capable of winning a Tour in the right circumstances.

I think he genuinely was 'trying' to win the Tour in 2010, but without the necessary base fitness due to lack of training. In 2011 he had the fitness but probably had lost too much weight and would have only podiumed at best if he hadn't been injured in the crash. In 2012 at a couple of kilos heavier he had the resilience to make it through the (relatively easy) race with a strong team supporting him.

I know I'm only a Johnny come Lately fan of road racing but I can read and make my own mind up. I commend him for deciding to go for another challenge rather than following the Tour Only template of LA etc. His attempt at the Giro came to naught but he had always stated prior to the race that Nibali was the favourite on his home ground and no-one could have predicted the conditions being as bad as they were.

I want to see him going for some one day challenges next year and maybe the year after before switching to a track team pursuit/road TT attempt on Rio because that is where I think he'd be happiest. I think Cav was right, he's not a natural born winner, but I think he's done enough over the last 13 years to prove himself one of the most physically gifted cyclists of his generation. Although in competition in IP he didn't beat 4:15, before the virus 5 weeks pre-Beijing he was originally targetting 4:12 which is a different kettle of fish, power wise, and the evidence that that improvement was on the cards dates back to his 2007 blogs, notably during his outspoken period.

Oh, and Froome is not Merckx, I'm not even convinced yet he can take this TdF and am half expecting Saxo and Contador to take him to the cleaners which as a Sky fan is an uncomfortable feeling.

One day, when the unicorns run free, we can live in a more perfect world, where winged fairies flit across rainbowed skies and jolly gnomes sing songs in verdant forests. Until that time comes, it is best to not parrot a team's rationalization for a rider's sudden rise in performance.

 

[Granville57]

One day, when the unicorns run free, we can live in a more perfect world, where winged fairies flit across rainbowed skies and jolly gnomes sing songs in verdant forests. Until that time comes, it is best to not parrot a team's rationalization for a rider's sudden rise in performance.

Oh hell. If not for the length that would be be my new sig. If for no other reason than to incorporate the word "verdant" into CN forums on a regular basis.

Still might, still might...

 

[oldcrank]

I still can't understand why the UK public voted Wiggins the Sports Personality of the Year when he has chosen not to be UK-branded any more.. surely as a taxpayer in the Caymen Islands and not paying a bean in the UK he should have stood as the 2012 Caymen Islands Sports Personality of the Year...

I can state with certainty that Bradley Marc Wiggins has never paid
any tax of any type in the Caymen Islands, and I believe it is
unlikely than he, or the King of Kilburn for that matter, ever will.

 

[Granville57]

"Marc"

Really?

 

[oldcrank]

"Marc"
Really?

Yes, like Marc Robert Wilmots, Belgium's leading goal scorer
in World Cup history and current Belgium manager. Why did
you "roll-eyes"?

 

[martinvickers]

"Marc"

Really?

Yep. According Maurice Burton, Garry Wiggins got a kick out of having a kid with initials BMW, and a middle name that was almost Merc.

I know, i know. Poor Brad. Never stood a chance.

 

[Granville57]

Good lord. I was referring to the use of...

(Is there another Bradley Wiggins spoken of on these pages?)

 

[ChewbaccaD]

Am I the only one that has the impression that Wiggans could be manic depressive ?

Anyone know if he ever went out to buy some soup and came home with a car?

 

[andy1234]

Anyone know if he ever went out to buy some soup and came home with a car?

Surely he would notice when it didn't fit in the trolley?

 

[ChewbaccaD]

Surely he would notice when it didn't fit in the trolley?

I actually asked that question based on personal experience with a bipolar...

 

[andy1234]

I actually asked that question based on personal experience with a bipolar...

Weird thing is, I know someone who did just that too.
He went out to buy something mundane, ending up buying a brand new car.

He realised how little he actually needed the car about a week later and sold it.
It seemed funny at the time, but years later, we realised it was a sign of something more serious.

With regards to Wiggins, emotionally, he is definitely on the frail side.

 

[the sceptic]

Gaining weight is the new losing weight?

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Honestly I think his knee injury was just an excuse.

Chris Horner had bilharzia in his knee. Took him months to recover. Months.

 

[Cycle Chic]

Tour of Britain - Wiggo

Wiggins interview after winning the TT today...states he isn't a climber and cant compete with the likes of Dan Martin, Quintana or these other guys.

How things are a changing

 

[JimmyFingers]

He's never been a world class climber. He's a TTer that can climb a bit. It's them or climbers that can TT that generally win GTs.

Apart from Horner.

 

[ruamruam]

Wiggins interview after winning the TT today...states he isn't a climber and cant compete with the likes of Dan Martin, Quintana or these other guys.

How things are a changing

Yet just over a year ago he was the second best climber in the Tour. Wonder what changed?

 

[ruamruam]

He's never been a world class climber. He's a TTer that can climb a bit. It's them or climbers that can TT that generally win GTs.

Apart from Horner.

As I said in the previous post at last year at the Tour he was the second best climber. Looked fairly world class in that Tour

 

[JimmyFingers]

Yes I wonder too. Lets all analyse his words thoroughly, draw various conclusions from them, debate that for a while and see if anyone's opinion's of Wiggins has changed.

 

[the sceptic]

He's never been a world class climber. He's a TTer that can climb a bit. It's them or climbers that can TT that generally win GTs.

Apart from Horner.

By climb a bit do you mean the 2nd best climber in the world after his teammate?

Physically I am ready for the world's, I'm physically in the best form I've ever been for this discipline," he added.

So at first he lost weight to become by far the best ITTer in the world, then he gained weight again and became even better. You couldnt make this stuff up.

 

[JimmyFingers]

I think Cancellara and Martin will have something to say about you describing him as 'by far the best ITTer in the world'