Wiggins, a man in love!

[Galic Ho]

wow...wigg's comment about the "supremacy of Chris Froome for the next five years"
pretty cut and dried then.. they've got the formula down?

For Froome and Porte? Probably.

Nibali is a problem based on how he raced the early part of this season.

I still suspect the Spanish in Spain will be a problem as well.

The Vuelta will tell. Just like last years Vuelta did. Spanish walked away with it. Though they did all race fresh, but still spanked Froome.

Movistar IMO and Astana gained a lot of ground. It will be interesting to see how Henao and Uran go against Movistar's juggernaut team.

IMO Uran will probably never podium a GT again once he leaves Sky. Just like Thomas DeGendt.

Right time, right place, right program and right circumstances. Just like Wiggins in 2012. Now the gig is over and he is going back to track racing. The reason is simple and obvious. Does not want to get caught doping because he pushed way too far.

Was he convincing talking about Froome dominating for 5 years? Pathological liar by trade, so sincerity is anyone's guess on this matter. Maybe he knows the badzhilla story will cover Froome's Passport irregularities, where as it won't for him? I don't care...he's gone. Done. It's OVER.

So can Sky push dominance for 5 years? They need a LOT of money and favours in curtailing other riders PUSHING the ABP boundaries. 2009 Contador and Schleck would beat Porte and maybe even Froome. Will they return?

The sun will set on Froome too. If it doesn't, when he falls, it will be harder and farther than needs be.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Wiggins' heart clearly isn't in the road anymore, but it's kind of bizarre just how far he's fallen. He was #1 in the rolling year's CQ ranking this time last year, thanks to the 2011 Vuelta and the 2012 megaseason. Yet now on the rolling ranking he's 199th and trending downwards.

Here's his CQ graph to date:

Look at it, it's like a Javier Guillén stage design wet dream. Reminds me of this:

But look at the projected blue dot for 2013. It looks like really I should be looking at this stage instead:

The only other GT winner in recent years to have such a spectacular rise and fall is Juan José Cobo.

 

[the sceptic]

how do skybots explain that the biggest talent in the sport since Lemond suddenly is completely useless? Everyone started doping again?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Obviously they haven't, because Porte and Froome are still winning everything.

Wiggins is easy enough to explain in that he's achieved almost everything he needs to in the sport and is now unmotivated to do the hard work and achieve the marginal gains that he did in 2011 and 2012.

 

[thehog]

Obviously they haven't, because Porte and Froome are still winning everything.

Wiggins is easy enough to explain in that he's achieved almost everything he needs to in the sport and is now unmotivated to do the hard work and achieve the marginal gains that he did in 2011 and 2012.

Kinda funny the whole thing. A nice experiment if you will.

It's true. Drugs can turn a track rider into a Tour winner.

He worked hard. But it's easy to work hard on oxygen vector drugs.

 

[King Boonen]

how do skybots explain that the biggest talent in the sport since Lemond suddenly is completely useless? Everyone started doping again?

Did anyone ever claim that?

 

[Benotti69]

Obviously they haven't, because Porte and Froome are still winning everything.

Wiggins is easy enough to explain in that he's achieved almost everything he needs to in the sport and is now unmotivated to do the hard work and achieve the marginal gains that he did in 2011 and 2012.

I would've thought that Wiggins at his age would want to keep raking in the money and capitalise on his value after his TdF win.

But he seems to have thrown in the towel and I would not be surprised if he doesn't ride hardly any races on the road next year.

 

[the sceptic]

Did anyone ever claim that?

I dont remember if anyone said it directly, but its kind of implied that if someone is clean and wins almost every race for a year then they have to be incredibly talented.

 

[thehog]

I would've thought that Wiggins at his age would want to keep raking in the money and capitalise on his value after his TdF win.

But he seems to have thrown in the towel and I would not be surprised if he doesn't ride hardly any races on the road next year.

I just think he's not going to dope like that again. That's the difference.

 

[the sceptic]

Wiggins was never like his love Lance. Lance would never allow Dawg to go full ***. But then again maybe its smarter this way. only go full *** for 1 year.

 

[Afrank]

Wiggins' heart clearly isn't in the road anymore, but it's kind of bizarre just how far he's fallen. He was #1 in the rolling year's CQ ranking this time last year, thanks to the 2011 Vuelta and the 2012 megaseason. Yet now on the rolling ranking he's 199th and trending downwards.

Here's his CQ graph to date:

Look at it, it's like a Javier Guillén stage design wet dream. Reminds me of this:


But look at the projected blue dot for 2013. It looks like really I should be looking at this stage instead:


The only other GT winner in recent years to have such a spectacular rise and fall is Juan José Cobo.

Yep, pretty much sums Wiggins up nicely. Wiggins really has become an embarrassment, I half think he should just retire. He seems to have become pretty useless in any road race, the only thing he can really do now is time trial.

 

[martinvickers]

I would've thought that Wiggins at his age would want to keep raking in the money and capitalise on his value after his TdF win.

But he seems to have thrown in the towel and I would not be surprised if he doesn't ride hardly any races on the road next year.

Wiggins could make FAR more money in media work if he wants to. He's a national treasure, like it or not; he's basically the entire story of the rise of British cycling in one rider. Continuing on the road past the end of his contract could, bizarrely, probably cost him money.

The GB general public are not the same as more 'traditional' cycling nations, in terms of what they value, or how they watch cycling, or how they read the history of the sport. They just don't have the history.

Hell, every year somebody has to explain on ITV4 - again - why Mark Cavendish will 'probably' never win the yellow jersey.

Even actual fans with some actual knowledge give far more kudos to track cycling and TT than most of the 'experts' on here - have done since Boardman, Obree and before. The Tour was always rather an exotic summer romance, on C4 with American Football and Kibaddi, with very little to do with GB and it's riders. Foreign, basically, whereas the Olympics, well GB got that, and their place in it.

But Wiggins was the man who bridged the gap. Boardman did to an extent, Millar before his bust. But a trackie to win the thing? and of course, the odd and winding road through the shock of 'Pursuiter' brad in the high mountains in 2009, the formation of Sky, the horrors of 2010 and the crash and vuelta of 2011 formed a perfect narrative device - the epic quest - Galahad and the Grail. (Something similar played out with Andy Murray between Wimbledon 2012 and 2013)

You don't really need to find the Grail multiple times. The story completes itself.

Once Le Tour was won, of course, it became no longer unreal exotica, but simply a top end sports event, where one hopes to have contenders, and with a dodgy history - like 100m or heavyweight boxing. But that Grail feeling is never repeated, and no-one ever truly replaces Galahad. Or, to put it another way, Edmund Hilary.

Good luck tearing down Galahad.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Yep, pretty much sums Wiggins up nicely. Wiggins really has become an embarrassment, I half think he should just retire. He seems to have become pretty useless in any road race, the only thing he can really do now is time trial.

Exactly what he was good at before his transformation: TT'ing.

Turning climbers into TT monsters takes a nice portion of dope, likewise transforming TTers into climbers takes some juicing too.

And then we have the donkeys suddenly becoming world class GT riders....

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Wiggins' TTing (at least over longer distances) as a scrawny climber was far in excess of the standard he showed when a pure TT specialist. His TT got way better at the same time as his climbing legs appeared from out of nowhere.

 

[Benotti69]

Wiggins could make FAR more money in media work if he wants to. He's a national treasure, like it or not; he's basically the entire story of the rise of British cycling in one rider. Continuing on the road past the end of his contract could, bizarrely, probably cost him money.

The GB general public are not the same as more 'traditional' cycling nations, in terms of what they value, or how they watch cycling, or how they read the history of the sport. They just don't have the history.

Hell, every year somebody has to explain on ITV4 - again - why Mark Cavendish will 'probably' never win the yellow jersey.

Even actual fans with some actual knowledge give far more kudos to track cycling and TT than most of the 'experts' on here - have done since Boardman, Obree and before. The Tour was always rather an exotic summer romance, on C4 with American Football and Kibaddi, with very little to do with GB and it's riders. Foreign, basically, whereas the Olympics, well GB got that, and their place in it.

But Wiggins was the man who bridged the gap. Boardman did to an extent, Millar before his bust. But a trackie to win the thing? and of course, the odd and winding road through the shock of 'Pursuiter' brad in the high mountains in 2009, the formation of Sky, the horrors of 2010 and the crash and vuelta of 2011 formed a perfect narrative device - the epic quest - Galahad and the Grail. (Something similar played out with Andy Murray between Wimbledon 2012 and 2013)

You don't really need to find the Grail multiple times. The story completes itself.

Once Le Tour was won, of course, it became no longer unreal exotica, but simply a top end sports event, where one hopes to have contenders, and with a dodgy history - like 100m or heavyweight boxing. But that Grail feeling is never repeated, and no-one ever truly replaces Galahad. Or, to put it another way, Edmund Hilary.

Good luck tearing down Galahad.

Wiggins doesn't have the personality or character to do media work. Guys a grade A c*nt.

Yeah i can really see Wiggins on tv explaining the basics of cycling to the new fans in Britland.

 

[martinvickers]

Wiggins doesn't have the personality or character to do media work. Guys a grade A c*nt.

THe latter has absolutely no bearing on the former, Benotti, sorry - Class A c*nts are in fact perfect media animals. See Boardman, C. Or for that matter Lawrenson, M, Willey B, Botham I, Hussain N, Greene Alan, Collymore S, Keane R, etc, etc, etc.

Hell, in my own country we make f***ing saints out of such loudmouth gobsh!tes - George Hook, Eamon Dumphy

Yeah i can really see Wiggins on tv explaining the basics of cycling to the new fans in Britland.

Doesn't need to - and remember, this is a public that happily have kept Liggitt and Porter in jobs for decades.

Seriously, leave you bias at the door, and recognise the reality.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

I would've thought that Wiggins at his age would want to keep raking in the money and capitalise on his value after his TdF win.

But he seems to have thrown in the towel and I would not be surprised if he doesn't ride hardly any races on the road next year.

He is on a 4 year deal with Sky. He gets paid either way, he was their investment to attempt to get a British winner of the Tour.
They did that, but now Sky have a new star.

THe latter has absolutely no bearing on the former, Benotti, sorry - Class A c*nts are in fact perfect media animals. See Boardman, C. Or for that matter Lawrenson, M, Willey B, Botham I, Hussain N, Greene Alan, Collymore S, Keane R, etc, etc, etc.

Hell, in my own country we make f***ing saints out of such loudmouth gobsh!tes - George Hook, Eamon Dumphy



Doesn't need to - and remember, this is a public that happily have kept Liggitt and Porter in jobs for decades.

Seriously, leave you bias at the door, and recognise the reality.

Benotti is correct.
While being a not nice person has zero to do with it and indeed a controversial person can be excellent, Wiggins is not comfortable with the press.
And there is little money in cycling 'analysis ' - but there would be more with a main stream publication, but all his 'books' and even his columns appear to be ghostwritten.

 

[martinvickers]

He is on a 4 year deal with Sky. He gets paid either way, he was their investment to attempt to get a British winner of the Tour.
They did that, but now Sky have a new star.


Benotti is correct.
While being a not nice person has zero to do with it and indeed a controversial person can be excellent, Wiggins is not comfortable with the press.
And there is little money in cycling 'analysis ' - but there would be more with a main stream publication, but all his 'books' and even his columns appear to be ghostwritten.

Was Roy Keane? Was Alan Shearer? Hell no! Didn't stop 'em.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Was Roy Keane? Was Alan Shearer? Hell no! Didn't stop 'em.

They are pundits - there is little money in that in cycling and no, he would not be articulate or insightful enough.

 

[martinvickers]

They are pundits - there is little money in that in cycling and no, he would not be articulate or insightful enough.

We'll simply have to agree to disagree then, Dr.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

We'll simply have to agree to disagree then, Dr.

Happy to.
The only place I could see him doing 'punditry' would be something like BBC for track or Olympics and 'writing' a preview for a Tour.

 

[gooner]

They are pundits - there is little money in that in cycling and no, he would not be articulate or insightful enough.

Nothing wrong with his anti-doping talk back in 2007. That was some of the most impressive and refreshing stuff to hear on the topic at the time. Well spoken too.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Nothing wrong with his anti-doping talk back in 2007. That was some of the most impressive and refreshing stuff to hear on the topic at the time. Well spoken too.

At the time it hit the right notes - but again it was a press conference or media event in Manchester in the same year he was 'writing' for (IIRC) the Guardian in part because the Tour started in London.

 

[martinvickers]

Happy to.
The only place I could see him doing 'punditry' would be something like BBC for track or Olympics and 'writing' a preview for a Tour.

Maybe we are slightly at cross purposes - I don't imagine he'll make millions from punditry alone per se. BUT...

There is a VERY well trodden path for former 'sporting greats' in GB - you do your winning - you become national treasure - you retire - you do a few after dinner speeches and a bit of BBC punditry, making sure we see your 'sense of humour' - you use the new cachet set up business doing 'away day' executive motivation crap.

There has always been an endless stream of companies willing to pay rather ludicrous sums to be told about 'dedication' by an ex sportsman with medals, and get a little 'stardust'.

Now Brad has
A)a lot of stardust
B) a reputation for being 'a bit of a character', good for a swear word and a 'larf'
C) lots of sports bling (medals, jerseys)
D) an easy narrative to sell that'll ring all sort of management bells - 'Marginal Gains' - 'managing change' - 'teamwork'

You then get in your 'facilitator' colleague who actually runs the company to do the boring whiteboard sessions, have a post jolly drink with the city exec who booked you and pocket your half of the cheque.

Redgrave as an athlete was famously churlish with the media (his sarcastic farewell to them after his last olympics was legendary), with everybody really - he managed to turn one good quip about shooting him in a boat and a great sports narrative into a nice little earner (certainly several hundred thousand) and he didn't even go the whole 'management' hog. The after dinner speech circuit alone is about 30K a pop for a top ex sportsman, and that's little more than a few stories and a couple of jokes.

Boring, cynical but much easier than training for Vueltas; soft money with no expiry date

 

[Franklin]

it just is not possible to be in caloric deficit and prepare for the TdF. This is a flat out lie by Brailford.

You mean those muscles and organs need to be fed if you train them? Say it ain't so