Wiggins Discussion thread.

[airstream]

A top form trio of Porte, Uran and Froome could discourage all but the strongest or most foolish attacks, save for some peak climbing form from the Schlecks. Throw in Sivtsov and Rogers, 2 riders whom we've seen climb very well in GTs, and you could quite easily see a US Postal style train.

As has been pointed out though, how Sky can reconcile the aims of Cav and Brad will determine whether the above is even a possibility. Porte and Froome in particular are probably earmarked to hep both - tough ask.

I can agree on Froome. Well, it's very doubtful how good Porte is at climbing on really mountain stockade stages. Uran is a climber of about top-20 level. I don't think he will survive in the peloton up to decisive attacks. In addition, I'm sure entire team barring Uran and Froome will work on flat, creating US Postal style train. we will see some other train in the mountains.

 

[Swifty's Cakes]

A top form trio of Porte, Uran and Froome could discourage all but the strongest or most foolish attacks, save for some peak climbing form from the Schlecks. Throw in Sivtsov and Rogers, 2 riders whom we've seen climb very well in GTs, and you could quite easily see a US Postal style train.

As has been pointed out though, how Sky can reconcile the aims of Cav and Brad will determine whether the above is even a possibility. Porte and Froome in particular are probably earmarked to hep both - tough ask.

It would be nice to see Sky let Froome attack when they get to the Alps and try to force the other teams to chase. There is not much that will cause a separation in the first week other than some TT miles and belle fille so he should be close enough to the lead that he would have to be treated as a threat. It won't happen though, they'll sit and ride for Wiggins all day, but it would be nice.

 

[The Hitch]

Lol, Uran will stop not a single attack. What has Froome done this year so far? As far as I'm concerned he still has got to get rid off that one day fly tag. Not saying he can't do it, but I want to see some results first

Porte could hardly climb up a mountain in a GT last year, somehow I doubt that will change much unless there's something odd going on. The only way we could see a US Postal train out of these 3 is if Sky dopes them up à la Bjarne Riis.

You hype Vanendert based on 2 mtf performances and a 6th in Fw, yet Froome with his awesomness throughout the Vuelta (not just 1 stage), is a 1 day fly lol.

You don't just podium a gt and not have talent.

Froome showed he has great climbing in the Vuelta. That is here to stay.

I can agree on Froome. Well, it's very doubtful how good Porte is at climbing on really mountain stockade stages. Uran is a climber of about top-20 level. I don't think he will survive in the peloton up to decisive attacks. In addition, I'm sure entire team barring Uran and Froome will work on flat, creating US Postal style train. we will see some other train in the mountains.

Uran was witht he heads of state last year.

I think hes a better climber than Wiggins actually.


In Froome and Uran Wiggins has 2 super domestiques. 2 gt challengers in their own right, working for him.

 

[hrotha]

You don't just podium a gt and not have talent

 

[airstream]

Who is it? Nozal?)

 

[El Pistolero]

Hitch, where did I say Vanendert is going to destroy everyone on the mountains? It's the Vuelta, bigger nobodies have podiumed there. I don't believe I ever hyped Vanendert. Unless you think top 5 in the Ardennes is called over-hyping.

Vanendert was good all year by the way, not just in the Tour As far as most people are concerned, Froome didn't exist until the Vuelta

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Froome has had an chest infection bugging him since the season start (also causing him to mis PN).

I'll reserve my judgment until he is fully fit and functional again.

Speaking of Vanendert, he's been **** so far this year.

 

[Winterfold]

It would be nice to see Sky let Froome attack when they get to the Alps and try to force the other teams to chase. There is not much that will cause a separation in the first week other than some TT miles and belle fille so he should be close enough to the lead that he would have to be treated as a threat. It won't happen though, they'll sit and ride for Wiggins all day, but it would be nice.

Froome will be given no room to attack by the other teams - what Sky think about it doesnt really matter.

Asumming he's in form of course. Which as others have said, is a pretty big IF...

 

[airstream]

Uran was witht he heads of state last year.
I think hes a better climber than Wiggins actually.
In Froome and Uran Wiggins has 2 super domestiques. 2 gt challengers in their own right, working for him.

The thing is, despite the Vuelta and 2009 Tour, we all assess Wiggins' climbing level differently. I treat it very carefully. The heroic Wiggins' 09 Tour included only 1 stage where he could lose really a lot. Based on Voeckler, using super motivation, it's possible to survive in the mountains even longer than on one stage. Even if he supposably cracks on La Toussuire and lose 2-3 min, it won't be shock, you can agree though. ) I guess Uran can be better on a particular day but it's rather an exception. Better than Wiggo climbers fight for top 10 themselves on such a parcours inclusively.

 

[Froome19]

I've got a feeling Cav won't finish the tour this year with The Olympics looming.

Naah, he will finish the british public would be devastated if he didnt.

Lol, Uran will stop not a single attack. What has Froome done this year so far? As far as I'm concerned he still has got to get rid off that one day fly tag. Not saying he can't do it, but I want to see some results first

Porte could hardly climb up a mountain in a GT last year, somehow I doubt that will change much unless there's something odd going on. The only way we could see a US Postal train out of these 3 is if Sky dopes them up à la Bjarne Riis.

Porte was bad at the Giro yet was still made to work like mad and then got better as it got along but then was made to go to the tour as well where he was just to exhausted, he has already shown this year that with a proper build up he can perform very well and i expect quite a big jump this year after the year in his development which he lost last year.
Froome is quality and when he has had the opportunity to be on form and perform he has- Vuelta, TDS, Beijing (he was the strongest climber and if you want other results look at his position there)and Worlds, last year so there is no doubt that if on form he will be very strong.
And I tell you that if Uran will not stop attacks then he will not be taken to the tour.

Froome has had an chest infection bugging him since the season start (also causing him to mis PN).

I'll reserve my judgment until he is fully fit and functional again.

Speaking of Vanendert, he's been **** so far this year.

So what if Vanendert has been not that great so far, its irrelevant? (its March)
Froome unfortunately was caught in an accident today but lets hope he will ready for Catalunya

 

[El Pistolero]

Don't worry, I have good hopes for Froome. But for now, he's still a one day fly and he will have to get rid of that tag before I start to really believe in him. US Postal train means killing everyone on the mountain stages at the Tour. Sorry for being a little bit skeptical here

 

[spalco]

Naah, he will finish the british public would be devastated if he didnt.

Are you joking? If you make a poll in Britain asking "what's the green jersey and how prestigious would say it is on a scale of 1-10?" what kind of answer would you expect?

If Cavendish wins 4-5 stages and then leaves, everything would be fine for Sky imo. Especially if Wiggins does well also.

eta: that said, I do expect him to try to finish at least, but he won't get much help from his team in the mountains.

 

[Froome19]

Are you joking? If you make a poll in Britain asking "what's the green jersey and how prestigious would say it is on a scale of 1-10?" what kind of answer would you expect?

If Cavendish wins 4-5 stages and then leaves, everything would be fine for Sky imo. Especially if Wiggins does well also.

eta: that said, I do expect him to try to finish at least, but he won't get much help from his team in the mountains.

I disagree, after SPOTY the public consider it to be massive.
All he really needs is Berny and Sutton/Hagen for help in the mountains

 

[El Pistolero]

All he needs is one car

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Im afraid your wrong no one can blast wiggins domestiques out they will simply not last as long, they will ride at Wiggins max pace until they drop then he will continue the tt to the top, a rider on their own or a group of up to 3 will never be able to pull a huge gap out of a form Wiggins on the climbs. He simply doesnt need to let his pace be affected by accelerations he can let groups go up the road by 30 seconds then his superior engine will bring them back or minimise the loss

He came 2nd in the tt worlds, realistically Sanchez in peak tt form will still lose 2:30 - 3:00 at an absolute minimum over 3 tts, Evans really is his only rival if everyone arrives in peak condition. I honestly think Menchov is past it.....may be famous last words

If Andy Schleck attacks at the base of a climb and gets pulled back by Kanstantsin Siutsou and Mick Rogers, then something is very wrong with either Schleck or the ex-HTC duo. If he can cut Sky's men down to 3, then that's just fine and dandy. Andy will have his brother and probably somebody else with them in the elites group anyway. Could be a good matchup, since obviously the Schlecks will need time, and Wiggins will need to hold on. Evans' role in this could be very interesting too, because if the Schlecks underrate Wiggins' climbing, they certainly can't underestimate Evans' after last year.

I wasn't saying Wiggins wouldn't win, simply that I don't think he's the overwhelming favourite. He's certainly ONE OF the favourites, and nowhere did I say he isn't, but to say he's the overwhelming favourite suggests you might have just bought a pair of these and are trying them out for the first time.

 

[Parrulo]

If Andy Schleck attacks at the base of a climb and gets pulled back by Kanstantsin Siutsou and Mick Rogers, then something is very wrong with either Schleck or the ex-HTC duo. If he can cut Sky's men down to 3, then that's just fine and dandy. Andy will have his brother and probably somebody else with them in the elites group anyway. Could be a good matchup, since obviously the Schlecks will need time, and Wiggins will need to hold on. Evans' role in this could be very interesting too, because if the Schlecks underrate Wiggins' climbing, they certainly can't underestimate Evans' after last year.

I wasn't saying Wiggins wouldn't win, simply that I don't think he's the overwhelming favourite. He's certainly ONE OF the favourites, and nowhere did I say he isn't, but to say he's the overwhelming favourite suggests you might have just bought a pair of these and are trying them out for the first time.

i agree with everything on this post.

the dynamics of next year's tour will be interesting, with some luck and barring crashes we could have a group of better climbers then tters trying their best to drop all the best tters and since the only guys needing time for the itt's won't be the schlecks we may actually get to see some real attacks on the mountains. we will have not only the schlecks and their pathetic attacks but guys like samu, nibali, gesink, cobo, JVDB and maybe even piti who actually know how to a attack and stick to it and if they form a group with the schlecks with wiggins evans and menchov dropped things can get ugly for those 3 most for wiggins as i think he is the worst climber of those 3.

dropping menchov and evans will be harder tho and i highly doubt many of the guys i mentioned will be actually able to do it.

 

[happychappy]

the dynamics of next year's tour will be interesting.

Yeah. Contador will be back

 

[Euskaltel!]

Tbh I think it's shaping up to be a nice tour:

We have a route with above average TTing, and some mountains where climbers will have to take back time. And then we have a set of riders who have different characteristics, some better at TT, some better climbing, some a bit of both.

So we have Evans, the defending champion, who showed last year what he could really achieve. Can he do it again? How's his climbing? How's his TT?
We have Schleck, the pretender, when will he attack and NOT look back? And how will the Tour only thing go for him?
We have the other Schleck, who surely will be helping Andy.
We have Wiggins, who has started to show some mettle, but will have to climb and TT to the best of his abilities. Multi-mountain stages are the key test for him.
Then we have Gesink/VDB/Nibali/Menchov - strong contenders, but will they bring their form? Will they have enough? Can they surprise?
Then we have Froome/Leipheimer/Horner etc, what can they do?

Well, we'll have to see. I'm hoping for a good show from Froome and Gesink!

 

[The Hitch]

Are you joking? If you make a poll in Britain asking "what's the green jersey and how prestigious would say it is on a scale of 1-10?" what kind of answer would you expect?

If Cavendish wins 4-5 stages and then leaves, everything would be fine for Sky imo. Especially if Wiggins does well also.

eta: that said, I do expect him to try to finish at least, but he won't get much help from his team in the mountains.

10. They've been told its worth as much as the yellow.

 

[greatking88]

10. They've been told its worth as much as the yellow.

To be honest, living in the UK for the last 10 years and most sports fans here haven't got a clue what the green jersey is, well the guys I play football with. Actually some of them ask is Cavendish winning the overall when he's winning all those stages..

 

[Froome19]

To be honest, living in the UK for the last 10 years and most sports fans here haven't got a clue what the green jersey is, well the guys I play football with. Actually some of them ask is Cavendish winning the overall when he's winning all those stages..

Yeh but that was until Cav won it, now that he has won it has been elevated like Hitch said ,to a great achievment (especially as i mentioned due to the sports personality of the year where it was made into a massive thing and was the reason cav won alongside his worlds win)

 

[adamski101]

Yeh but that was until Cav won it, now that he has won it has been elevated like Hitch said ,to a great achievment (especially as i mentioned due to the sports personality of the year where it was made into a massive thing and was the reason cav won alongside his worlds win)

sorry disagree with this entirely. I am british and yes I am a cycling fan and am more than well aware of the importance of the green jersey and magnitude of winning it, but Cavendish winning SPOTY had little to do with him winning the green jersey, it was based 80-90% on his winning the world championships. i have many friends who are huge sports fan and have all asked me why doesn't Cav win the tour de france if he wins so many stages, they do not understand the race and how it works, sure they will watch, but they just see him crossing the finish line and they think that means he should win the whole thing. The public in general do not understand what the green jersey is about and in all probability do not care.

Hitch was correct when he said that the Green has been built up to be comparable to yellow in minds of the non-cycling afficionado British public and they have been swept along on the wave of a WC win and SPOTY win.

Truth is come December, Cavendish will be all but forgotten for the British general public unless he wins Olympic gold.

The green jersey holds no weight or gravitas in the UK.

 

[Carlo Algatrensig]

10. They've been told its worth as much as the yellow.

Have they? On an edition of the BBC Quiz show Pointless this week one of the questions was who was Britains first winner of the tour de france Green Jersey? Of the group of 100 people who determine how many points you get for giving it as a correct answer only 4 of them knew it was Cavendish. I know its not the most perfect way of telling how much the Tour de France green jersey has made it into the consciousness of the british public but only four of them knowing it shows it can't have made it that far.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

sorry disagree with this entirely. I am british and yes I am a cycling fan and am more than well aware of the importance of the green jersey and magnitude of winning it, but Cavendish winning SPOTY had little to do with him winning the green jersey, it was based 80-90% on his winning the world championships. i have many friends who are huge sports fan and have all asked me why doesn't Cav win the tour de france if he wins so many stages, they do not understand the race and how it works, sure they will watch, but they just see him crossing the finish line and they think that means he should win the whole thing. The public in general do not understand what the green jersey is about and in all probability do not care.

Hitch was correct when he said that the Green has been built up to be comparable to yellow in minds of the non-cycling afficionado British public and they have been swept along on the wave of a WC win and SPOTY win.

Truth is come December, Cavendish will be all but forgotten for the British general public unless he wins Olympic gold.

The green jersey holds no weight or gravitas in the UK.

Correct, the green jersey is largely irrelevant except in the eyes of the a small group of core cycling fans. Yellow, Rainbow, Olympic gold or nothing.

 

[simo1733]

Andy has to do Alberto style repeated extended attacks if he is to gain time on Cadel and UK Postal