Wiggins Discussion thread.

[red_flanders]

How is it even a question that Wiggins would be on the team? How can they possibly defend such a decision?

"We've picked our captain and we decided not to bring Sir Brad along because he might get a lead and cause havoc internally."

For the millions who don't follow cycling, will it be OK that Sir Brad is left off 2 years in a row for team politics? Absurd. But what other explanation can they offer? The convenient "injury" from last year can't fly.

 

[Bexon30]

How is it even a question that Wiggins would be on the team? How can they possibly defend such a decision?

"We've picked our captain and we decided not to bring Sir Brad along because he might get a lead and cause havoc internally."

For the millions who don't follow cycling, will it be OK that Sir Brad is left off 2 years in a row for team politics? Absurd. But what other explanation can they offer? The convenient "injury" from last year can't fly.

Surely he needs to go into the Tour team. If Froome is behind the decision then it may well come back to bite him. I could only see Bradley as an aid to him work wise. Forgetting any problems the 2 have had, he is not a threat to the Dawg. Used correctly he is a great rider to have on any team. Even if Brad went for a placement in GC he's still no threat to Chris in the mountains.

 

[hfer07]

"Never burn your bridges"
"Never leave a bad impression among colleagues"
"Always repay those who have helped you"


Simple principles that must be honored in any profession, and yet Wiggo's fans aspire to see him "chosen" on the Tour team? Froome is entitled to demand his removal if he likes, independly if Wiggo is on form

 

[Bexon30]

"Never burn your bridges"
"Never leave a bad impression among colleagues"
"Always repay those who have helped you"


Simple principles that must be honored in any profession, and yet Wiggo's fans aspire to see him "chosen" on the Tour team? Froome is entitled to demand his removal if he likes, independly if Wiggo is on form

Personally I'm not a fan of either, I despise team Sky. That aside how many chances should someone get to repay those that helped? Froome at times undermined Bradley didn't he? If I was DS I'd pick the best team physically the other side of it can be forgotten in a professional work environment.

There's plenty of people in professional work positions who've had previous, and don't see eye to eye but still do a professional job. That's my take on them anyway. Bradley is super strong on flats, hilly and can drive a hard pace up the mountains. He is able to last 3 weeks and is vastly experienced. I'd want THAT help.

 

[movingtarget]

I think management will want to pick him but with reservations. If he is picked it could create a lot tension within the team. I think it's 50/50 at this point. Froome will argue that he won without him last year even though at times Sky looked weak. Porte was in super form and so far this year not sure whether he will be in the same form again in July with illness and missed races. Froome will need Porte to be at his peak. Wiggins will either leave Sky or stay at Sky but forget the GTs altogether which I think is possible. Porte seems to be the next in line for GTs but never got his chance at the Giro.

 

[hfer07]

Personally I'm not a fan of either, I despise team Sky. That aside how many chances should someone get to repay those that helped? Froome at times undermined Bradley didn't he? If I was DS I'd pick the best team physically the other side of it can be forgotten in a professional work environment.

How many chances? right at the moment when Wiggo won the Tour, thanks to him (Froome) That was the moment he should have paid his share to him right away, separating all that was "evident" on the road.

There's plenty of people in professional work positions who've had previous, and don't see eye to eye but still do a professional job. That's my take on them anyway. Bradley is super strong on flats, hilly and can drive a hard pace up the mountains. He is able to last 3 weeks and is vastly experienced. I'd want THAT help.

is not about eye for eye- is about TRUST, which must be "earned" reciprocally, therefore Froome-being the leader-has solid reasons to chose Wiggo out of the team, regardless who "useful" can he be on the flats, pace making and so forth-there are "others" than can fulfill those duties somewhat as good as they need be ....

 

[Bexon30]

How many chances? right at the moment when Wiggo won the Tour, thanks to him (Froome) That was the moment he should have paid his share to him right away, separating all that was "evident" on the road.




is not about eye for eye- is about TRUST, which must be "earned" reciprocally, therefore Froome-being the leader-has solid reasons to chose Wiggo out of the team, regardless who "useful" can he be on the flats, pace making and so forth-there are "others" than can fulfill those duties somewhat as good as they need be ....

I'm not privy to know what's been said etc. but no 1 man should choose a team surely? It has to be management not Froome. Wiggins is no longer a threat, could top 5? Certainly top 10 it and be more useful than other riders. Also a solid fall back if there's any problems, along with RP. I don't see him as a problem. Maybe you could tell me a scenario where he would hinder SKY's GC plan?

 

[armchairclimber]

It's SKY's team. Unless Froome has a veto on team membership written into his contract, the decision will be down to Brailsford, with not insignificant input from Murdoch Junior.
From a SKY team PR point of view it would be absurd/disaster not to have Wiggins in the team for a "home" Tour de France. Wiggins is by far the bigger name in the UK.

 

[Miburo]

How is it even a question that Wiggins would be on the team? How can they possibly defend such a decision?

"We've picked our captain and we decided not to bring Sir Brad along because he might get a lead and cause havoc internally."

For the millions who don't follow cycling, will it be OK that Sir Brad is left off 2 years in a row for team politics? Absurd. But what other explanation can they offer? The convenient "injury" from last year can't fly.

He'll focus on the vuelta.

That could be an explanation. If i were sky i wouldn't put him on the team.

It's way too risky, i'm sure brad is still ****ed off considering what happened 2 years ago. If at some point he has somehow a lead, after cobble stage for example then what is sky gonna do?

Next MTF Froome will prob be forced to follow Contador and wiggins will get crushed. But that's not the point. The days before that MTF it'll be drama in the papers, all the times annoying question of who is the leader. And like i said if i were froome i wouldn't trust wiggins.

 

[elfed68]

It's SKY's team. Unless Froome has a veto on team membership written into his contract, the decision will be down to Brailsford, with not insignificant input from Murdoch Junior.
From a SKY team PR point of view it would be absurd/disaster not to have Wiggins in the team for a "home" Tour de France. Wiggins is by far the bigger name in the UK.[/QUOTE

Absolutely, totally agree.

 

[JRanton]

The provisional Dauphine teams will be announced in the next day or two. If Wiggins isn't down to ride then we'll know he won't be at the Tour either.

 

[elfed68]

It's SKY's team. Unless Froome has a veto on team membership written into his contract, the decision will be down to Brailsford, with not insignificant input from Murdoch Junior.
From a SKY team PR point of view it would be absurd/disaster not to have Wiggins in the team for a "home" Tour de France. Wiggins is by far the bigger name in the UK.

Absolutely, totally agree.

 

[PirazziAttacksVino]

I've always hated Wiggo, but if he doesn't make the team for the TDF I'll be really disappointed. Having the TDF starting in GB with the most popular (and influential) British cyclist in the team, and not selectim him is the jerkiest move DB/Froome can do.

 

[bigcog]

It's SKY's team. Unless Froome has a veto on team membership written into his contract, the decision will be down to Brailsford, with not insignificant input from Murdoch Junior.
From a SKY team PR point of view it would be absurd/disaster not to have Wiggins in the team for a "home" Tour de France. Wiggins is by far the bigger name in the UK.

It may be a PR disaster, although I think it would blow over fairly quickly. If the main aim is to win the TDF with CF and if they think Wiggins would put that a risk in some way why would they take him ? If they just want to take Wiggins for PR then something is wrong, it's about winning the race at the end of the day, not what the BBC thinks.

 

[armchairclimber]

It may be a PR disaster, although I think it would blow over fairly quickly. If the main aim is to win the TDF with CF and if they think Wiggins would put that a risk in some way why would they take him ? If they just want to take Wiggins for PR then something is wrong, it's about winning the race at the end of the day, not what the BBC thinks.

I don't think it would blow over quickly. Wiggins is not the type to STFU if he isn't in the team.

In terms of the sporting decision, it makes a heck of a lot of sense to have Wiggins on board. Froome could fall and break his collarbone on the cobbles, whilst wiggo might be sitting on top of GC at that point.

I think this is what the Froome revelations are about. It's Froome's powerplay. "Look, I told you that SKY/Brailsford?WIggins are duplicitous".

Myself, I don't like SKY. Refuse to have the brand in my house. I refused to join my pals out taking photos of the recce this week. I have a fairly dispassionate view. To me, Froome is doing a good job of looking like even more of a tw@ than Wiggins.

 

[Jspear]

Froome looked pretty stuck up in that BBC clip. Is he that afraid of Wiggo? I don't think so - he must just be a jerk. Why leave out a guy that could be very helpful to you?....don't make no sense. My dislike for Froome continues to grow. Back in 2012 I thought he was a real nice quite guy...boy was I wrong! He's got the killer instinct towards his own teammate.

 

[pastronef]

All this leaves a very sour taste in my mouth, Wiggins deserves a place, and by the looks of it he's not getting it.

Pretty crap, who's running this team!

I don't know but everything would be easier if Michelle wouldn't fill Chris brain with worthless foam from the mouth*

*bob dylan

 

[bigcog]

Froome looked pretty stuck up in that BBC clip. Is he that afraid of Wiggo? I don't think so - he must just be a jerk. Why leave out a guy that could be very helpful to you?....don't make no sense. My dislike for Froome continues to grow. Back in 2012 I thought he was a real nice quite guy...boy was I wrong! He's got the killer instinct towards his own teammate.

He's probably peed off that he could have possibly won 2 tdfs (first uk winner and all that) by now and a vuelta. The chance to do so may not necessarily come around again. Plus it's patently obvious there is no love lost between them, so why would he want Wiggins on the team. It's all well and good to say be the big man and forgive and forget but if he does that and Wiggins starts with his tricks as of last year then it could make life very awkward for him.

 

[Richeypen]

He's probably peed off that he could have possibly won 2 tdfs (first uk winner and all that) by now and a vuelta. The chance to do so may not necessarily come around again. Plus it's patently obvious there is no love lost between them, so why would he want Wiggins on the team. It's all well and good to say be the big man and forgive and forget but if he does that and Wiggins starts with his tricks as of last year then it could make life very awkward for him.

The main reason surely is that a team with Wiggo in is stronger than one without him. Sky looked vulnerable last year and it was only due to the lack of competition that Froome made it look so easy. Contador and Saxo are a lot lot stronger this year and Sky will need everything to compete. Leaving arguably their second strongest rider at home because he and the team leader don't get on is petty and frankly ridiculous for a professional outfit and could backfire in a big way, especially with the way Porte has been riding this year.

 

[bigcog]

The main reason surely is that a team with Wiggo in is stronger than one without him. Sky looked vulnerable last year and it was only due to the lack of competition that Froome made it look so easy. Contador and Saxo are a lot lot stronger this year and Sky will need everything to compete. Leaving arguably their second strongest rider at home because he and the team leader don't get on is petty and frankly ridiculous for a professional outfit and could backfire in a big way, especially with the way Porte has been riding this year.

Possibly stronger, depends on what his frame of mind is. His track record of helping Froome is non-existent. Fair enough given what happened in 2012 in some respects. Froome did a lot of work for him in the 2011 Vuelta and to some degree in the 2012 TDF despite the other stuff.

Pity they just weren't both allowed to go for it in the last two tdfs, it would have been far more entertaining too.

 

[Richeypen]

Possibly stronger, depends on what his frame of mind is. His track record of helping Froome is non-existent. Fair enough given what happened in 2012 in some respects. Froome did a lot of work for him in the 2011 Vuelta and to some degree in the 2012 TDF despite the other stuff.

Pity they just weren't both allowed to go for it in the last two tdfs, it would have been far more entertaining too.

Pre to 2011 Froome had shown NOTHING and was of course going to have to work for Wiggo. There has never been an point going into a race where Wiggo would have been expected to work for Froome, they have been kept apart.

Wiggo has shown that he can been one of the best climbers in the peleton, one of the flat riders in the world and showed in the Olympics (doing monster turns chasing for cav just a few days before the TT) that he can be a super dom if the occasion arises.

Its not even like he is suddenly going to attack Froome even if he wanted to, Wiggos style of climbing is to set a high, constant, unrelenting tempo and burn off all the weak riders. Perfect for Froome whether Wiggo means it or not

 

[bigcog]

Pre to 2011 Froome had shown NOTHING and was of course going to have to work for Wiggo. There has never been an point going into a race where Wiggo would have been expected to work for Froome, they have been kept apart.

Wiggo has shown that he can been one of the best climbers in the peleton, one of the flat riders in the world and showed in the Olympics (doing monster turns chasing for cav just a few days before the TT) that he can be a super dom if the occasion arises.

Its not even like he is suddenly going to attack Froome even if he wanted to, Wiggos style of climbing is to set a high, constant, unrelenting tempo and burn off all the weak riders. Perfect for Froome whether Wiggo means it or not

I didn't notice Wiggins doing any work for Froome in the Vuelta 2011 after it was decided to support Froome, may be I missed it or it was too late in the race for him to make any meaningful contribution.

Wiggins is a very good climber but he is not in Contador/Froome class. Yes, he could be a great super dom, but given the past I can just cannot see it particularly for Froome.

 

[the sceptic]

Froome looked pretty stuck up in that BBC clip. Is he that afraid of Wiggo? I don't think so - he must just be a jerk. Why leave out a guy that could be very helpful to you?....don't make no sense. My dislike for Froome continues to grow. Back in 2012 I thought he was a real nice quite guy...boy was I wrong! He's got the killer instinct towards his own teammate.

I think Froome is a bit butthurt that Wiggo got all the hype, even though Froome basically handed him the tour win on a plate. And no one cared when Froome won himself.

Not that Wiggins isnt a ******bag himself though. I hope they let him ride, so we can maybe get some drama. But from a racing perspective Froome doesnt need Wiggins.

Maybe they need him for the PR though.

 

[alspacka]

Maybe they need him for the PR though.

Calm down he wasn't that amazing in Roubaix

 

[christopherrowe]

The provisional Dauphine teams will be announced in the next day or two. If Wiggins isn't down to ride then we'll know he won't be at the Tour either.

It's probably tentative, but as I write this Pro Cycling Stats lists these Sky riders for the Critérium du Dauphiné:

131.NIEVE Mikel
132.THOMAS Geraint
133.FROOME Christopher
134.WIGGINS Bradley
135.PORTE Richie
136.HENAO Sergio Luis