Wiggins Discussion thread.

[Andy99]

Personally I find people failing dope tests very suspicious. You know, like that Contador fellow - the person that got his TDF title ripped from his shoulders after finally getting popped for his doping.

Ha ha. Brilliant

 

[hrotha]

And rightfully so.

You know, you're sounding pretty sensible lately - at least for a fangirl. Kudos for that.

 

[OctaBech]

When was there a demonstration against the EPO test?

There was none, should have been 'testing'. I meant the sitdown protest in 1998, but couldn't be bothered to look it up.

Point remains the same.

 

[webvan]

Hard to condone swearing in public from a...public figure but I guess Wiggo is known for being "upfront". He's gone on record often enough to say that he didn't dope and that the 2008 TDF gave him hope when he saw his teammate CVV finish 4th, with the assumption that he didn't dope (or no longer doped based on recent developments).

Having seen it all over the past 35 years following cycling (I vividly remember being shocked as a kid when Pollentier was expelled from the 1978 TDF...and almost as much when I saw LA flying up Sestrières a few years later) I do find it plausible that Wiggo is indeed "clean" (i.e. not taking anything forbidden, doesn't mean he doesn't take legal drugs to optimize his performance) and must admit I'm a bit puzzled at all the haters coming out of the woodworks to accuse Wiggo and Sky of doping just because of their stellar 2012 performances and most recently on Planche des Belles Filles. So I can imagine how it feels when you're in the thick of it.

 

[roundabout]

What I don't understand is the overwhelming cheer by certain people. Minus the insults, what did Wiggins say that was so special? He worked hard to get where he is. That's it. Hardly something new and unheard of.

I am also sure that he does not have a monopoly on working hard, nor is working hard mutually exclusive with a subject left for the other section.

 

[OctaBech]

He's gone on record often enough to say that he didn't dope

When, do we have a source or two? Because my problem is the lack of straight to the point answers. Acting up is not answering the question, is't avoiding the question.

 

[595RED]

I appreciate Wiggo and Im not from the UK, Im sure when put in the lime light and being bagged to bits everyone has a cracking point. He is a fierce challenger for the 2012 Tour title, and what a one pony race it would be if he were npot there. GO WIGGO!

 

[Magnus]

There was none, should have been 'testing'. I meant the sitdown protest in 1998, but couldn't be bothered to look it up.

Point remains the same.

Ah ok. For the record epo testing wasn't developed until 2000.

 

[Magnus]

What I don't understand is the overwhelming cheer by certain people. Minus the insults, what did Wiggins say that was so special?

I guess people feel it's a welcome change when the stars actually say what's on their mind in stead of the usual mindless boring chit chat.

 

[roundabout]

Welcome change when there is simply swearing added to the usual "I work hard message"?

But yours is an interesting take on things.

 

[Andy99]

When, do we have a source or two? Because my problem is the lack of straight to the point answers. Acting up is not answering the question, is't avoiding the question.

No time at the moment, but yes there are quotes

 

[jens_attacks]

chapeau to wiggo and his answers. the answers of a real man and dedicated pro bike rider.

anyone who is man enough should say those things in his face not hiding on the internet.
and finally i think we have a new patron of the peloton.

there are people whom their mainly job from 7 am to the midinigh is only to hate,hate,hate....i don't understand them,what you do is totally wrong...you should pick another sport or activity or whatever

 

[Andy99]

chapeau to wiggo and his answers. the answers of a real man and dedicated pro bike rider.

anyone who is man enough should say those things in his face not hiding on the internet.
and finally i think we have a new patron of the peloton.

there are people whom their mainly job from 7 am to the midinigh is only to hate,hate,hate....i don't understand them,what you do is totally wrong...you should pick another sport or activity or whatever

Spot on. To be honest its probably the same people on other forums.

Sad really to think that society had failed so many people.

 

[cineteq]

anyone who is man enough should say those things in his face not hiding on the internet.and finally i think we have a new patron of the peloton.

Why am I not surprised with your answer? man enough? What does genders have to do with this?

I think @TheRaceRadio puts it very well
I am OK with profanity but he missed an opportunity to address the fans legit concerns and talk about how the sport has changed.

 

[Andy99]

Why am I not surprised with your answer? man enough? What does genders have to do with this?

I think @TheRaceRadio puts it very well
I am OK with profanity but he missed an opportunity to address the fans legit concerns and talk about how the sport has changed.

You make out as though he was there to make a prepared speech like Kofi Annan making an address to the UN.

It was a post-stage press conference. Nothing more. Since when did Brad become the official spokesman for the sport?

 

[MonteZoncolan]

chapeau to wiggo and his answers. the answers of a real man and dedicated pro bike rider.

anyone who is man enough should say those things in his face not hiding on the internet.
and finally i think we have a new patron of the peloton.

there are people whom their mainly job from 7 am to the midinigh is only to hate,hate,hate....i don't understand them,what you do is totally wrong...you should pick another sport or activity or whatever

Absolutly. I'm glad he didn't give the normal grey standard answer.

 

[Fergoose]

You make out as though he was there to make a prepared speech like Kofi Annan making an address to the UN.

It was a post-stage press conference. Nothing more. Since when did Brad become the official spokesman for the sport?

Exactly. He probably considers pulling on yellow as just about the pinnacle of his career, something he has worked towards for years. Then he has to field questions designed to cause mischief, that attempt to undermine that achievement. I thought his foul language was totally off though. Behaviour like that has put me right off him, like it did with Evans.

In hindsight Wiggins should have directed his attention at the spineless guy asking the question who had to hide behind anonymous people on Twitter rather than find his own backbone and ask a direct question himself. Something along the lines of "Do you believe that?" to put the ball back in the chump's court.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Why I find it suspicious?

The way I see it is that when an innocent person gets asked about doping they just shrug it off. You know, the "I know better than you" thingy. With such heavy reactions it always makes me wonder whether the person in question feels like they are with their back against the wall. And I'm not the only one who thinks this way, I discussed it with my dad and he agreed.

So if someone said to you, in all seriousness, that you are a liar and a cheat, and should be thrown out of your profession. And you could not see that they had any evidence, but they kept doing it, your response would simply be 'meh', and if you got angry, it would be evidence they were right?

 

[Andy99]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ot...-were-justified-says-Sky-team-principal.html#

Tour de France 2012: Bradley Wiggins' rant about those sullying his name were justified, says Sky team principal

Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford today offered to invite all the anonymous tweeters smearing Brad Wiggins name with hints at doping to a seminar at Manchester at the end of year.

Brailsford, who is totally supportive of Wiggins outspoken comments yesterday when quizzed on the issue, is happy to invite the accusers to a meeting in Manchester for them to ask any questions concerning Sky's training regimes and the data related to that training regime. Whether any of the anonymous faces would want to be revealed is another matter.

Wiggins has been in a rich vein of form since May last year since he has started working with his conditioning coach Tim Kerrison and attending training camps on Mount Teide in Tenerife.

Speaking at the start of today's 41.5km time-trial at Arc-et-Senas this morning Brailsford also reacted to Wiggins strong comments last night which included some bad language.

"It's nice to see a bit of passion. I totally agree with the sentiment. There may be a few choice words, language-wise that you could change but apart from that the sentiment was spot on as far as I'm concerned and no issue whatsoever for me.

"When you see the deluge of tweets and support that came in last night from all over the professional sporting community, it was quite amazing.



"The guy's just got off his bike after a very, very hard six-hour stage, he's stuffed, he comes in and then he gets asked if he's cheating.

"I totally agree with the sentiment, like the passion and back him 100 per cent. I think he's answered the question now.

"What people might not realise, particularly with Twitter, all these people who hide behind false names, pseudonyms, the amount of abuse he gets and we all get.

"There's something different about fronting up, being yourself and coming and saying face to face 'this is what I think of you'. But if you want to do it behind a pseudonym it smacks of cowardice."

Wiggins leads the Tour de France by ten seconds from Cadel Evans going into the time-trial this afternoon.

 

[Angliru]

After skimming through the clinic threads I'll still post my response here because I feel like I have nothing to add to a doping-related discussion and my main grievances with his remarks are not doping-related.

Random anonymous people on the internet suck. I should know, I am one. They say stuff they can't back up. For the people who are being accused (regardless of the nature of the accusation), that must be difficult to bear at times (regardless of whether said accusations are true or false). They can ignore it but that's probably not easy. However what they must absolutely not do is sink even lower than the level of an anonymous twitter-user. It's just disgraceful, especially for a maillot jaune. In any decent internet community people get banned for that kind of language, and rightfully so.

So when you get asked a question like that at a press conference, you compose yourself and you say something like "You can never convince anyone" or "As a professional, you've got to have a thick skin". Then you go backstage and you tell your DS all about what stupid w*nkers they are. But you don't go on rants analyzing random peoples lives and calling them every obscenity in the book ...

Yep, his responses were way over the top especially being that they are directed at anonymous sources. He could have taken the highroad but for whatever reasons he took it into the gutter. I would've thought that he'd be riding a high considering how well they're doing and not let anything alter that great mood.

 

[Gubby Allen]

Why I find it suspicious?

The way I see it is that when an innocent person gets asked about doping they just shrug it off. You know, the "I know better than you" thingy. With such heavy reactions it always makes me wonder whether the person in question feels like they are with their back against the wall. And I'm not the only one who thinks this way, I discussed it with my dad and he agreed.

Well, each to their own but I think the exact opposite. Answers of no comment, I rather not get drawn on that, you're entitled to think that, that's your prerogative etc will instantly make me think they've something to hide and afraid of the consequences of being on record defending themselves vigorously.

Think of the reaction 95% of politicians give to these answers and you know how they turn out. I'm surprised you'd think otherwise.

 

[Don't be late Pedro]

I would've thought that he'd be riding a high considering how well they're doing and not let anything alter that great mood.

But you can easily flip it the other way and think they were on such a high and then people start having a dig. People, in general, react much more to criticism (whether its true or not) than to praise.

 

[Captain Sensible]

Maybe it it was out of season and he was asked he might have answered better and in more detail. But this is his one and only chance to win the Tour so he might be letting all the media stuff getting the better of him,let's see if anyone takes up the offer that has been made by Dave Brailsford .

 

[aphronesis]

don't dismiss the fans and their scepticism, we haved been scarred one too many times.

This phrase comes up a lot in this context. Exactly how have you been scarred?
It's a commercial endeavor--beginning to end--one ultimately not for your benefit.

 

[cineteq]

Well why don't Sky do it and lead the way. I am sure Cyclingnews can get respected people to interpret them and publish their views on the website and if everything is grand after that I would be more than delighted but Brad don't dismiss the fans and their scepticism, we haved been scarred one too many times.

Very weird. He's changed his tune, or rather he's taken the easy way out. Where is the articulate rider (2007) who was so eloquent?
http://itv-57.vo.llnwd.net/d1/event1/WIGGINS Podcast 27_7_07_1-2.mp3