Team Sky

moray_gub

If Brailsford does as i expect and recruits a few big hitters for next season and one of those is say Alberto Contador how many of you would find this acceptable ? I would as i reckon to have a chance of getting a gig at the big events hes gonna need a GT rider of repute and a good classics man say someone like Damiano Cunego along with a spattering of journeymen and young British talent.


MG

Monty Dog

With people like Max Sciandri involved with the current U23 development squad in Italy, they'll be readily aware of what it needs to take to perform at Protour level and with increased drug-testing, the difference is increasingly marginal - but there are still a few teams who play by the 'old' rules. I thinks it's a bit disparaging to compare them to the likes of McCartney and ANC Halfords whose concept of management verged on criminal negligence and fraud.

FJS

I do think this is a great initiative, especially because the combination of a company like SKY (in contrast to a veggieburger company or a fitness glossy) and the ambition to produce a TdF winner suggests an ambition to bring cycling more into the British mainstream. That would be great for british cycling, cyclists in the UK, and make cycling in general more exciting. That the aim to have a British TdF winner is mostly aspirational doesn't really matter, it might inspire a few youngsters. So now, what about that British protour race or world championship?

mandie

I have no doubt that the BC/Sky team can be competetive at the highest level and I welcome the development.
Winning the Tour de France is different. It seems to me that out of every generation of cyclists there are only about four or five who even have the potential to win the thing.
Mark Cavendish may well develop an armlock on the Green Jersey over the next five or six years, he may well wear yellow in the first week, but his chances of wearing it to Paris are only marginaly better than mine.
Geraint Thomas probably will develop into a pretty good racer and win quite a few biggish races and stages, but I just don't see him as a Tour winner.
Dave Brailsford obviously knows a lot more about his U23 squad than I do so possibly there is some one there that he thinks has the potential, but the only British born rider that I see as having the possibility of developing into a Grand Tour winner is unfortunatly currently wearing the Irish champion's jersey.

marinerrr

I think everyone’s being overly negative – I think this is definitely a good thing – Brailsford and co know what they’re doing and well be nowhere near as naive as people are making out – they’ll be very much aware of all the other things they’ll need to take into account on the road, but what’s the point in aiming low? They have Legeay and Sunderland, who know what they’re doing, and this project has been being worked towards for years now – it’s silly to think they’re going in to expect that it will be as simple as the track has arguably been.

It seems to me that aim of a Tour winner is partly being thrown about for publicity – for instance on the BBC website it was reported as ‘British Tour winner in five years’ and I think the reason for this is the same reason BC have focused on the track for so long, because there is obvious success there, in terms of gold medals, as there is at the Tour because everyone even in Britain knows what it is. However if they say ‘British winner of Paris Roubaix in five years’ that’s not really a story, as most British people wouldn’t recognise the significance of that, even if we know that it’s a massive achievement. So I think maybe we shouldn’t take that aim so seriously, or at least not within five years. I think it's that it suits Brailsford to talk big at the moment, rather than it being naivety on his part.

I also think we’re under-estimating our young riders a little – do we really have any idea of just what they can do yet? Bellis came 3rd in the under 23 World RR, and Swift came 4th this year, and Swift and Kennaugh both won big under 23 races in Italy last year. We don’t even know how good Geraint Thomas could be yet, what with him essentially taking a year out for the Olympics last year. I’m not saying any of these guys are potential Tour winners exactly, I know in particular Bellis and Thomas are not that type of rider, but who really knows yet? How many of the recent top riders had achieved very much when they were still only 20? Some have, yes, but I think it’s silly to belittle what these guys have already achieved. Personally I don't feel Brailsford would say anything like that if he didn’t have someone quite clearly in mind, it won't be purely based on thin air. I imagine it would well be Dan Martin, but who knows yet.

Also the involvement of Sky should really help to raise the profile of the sport here in Britain (along with Cavendish’s on-going success, a possible Tour return in 2011(?) and so on) and surely that’s a good thing?

Sorry about the essay, guys.

sicrow

marinerrr wrote:

Also the involvement of Sky should really help to raise the profile of the sport here in Britain (along with Cavendish’s on-going success, a possible Tour return in 2011(?) and so on) and surely that’s a good thing?

:

+1

JC.152

british young riders

- Peter Kennaugh(only 19 and 2nd in nat road race)
^his brother Tim (winnning top junior races at 16 in 08
Luke Rowe
Alex Dowsett
Eirck Rowsell
Ben Swift
Jonny Bellis
Dan Fleeman
Andy Fenn(i think won junior roubaix)

So there should be enough decent young Brits for all the moaners on here that don't think a British team will work and it might not for 2010 as they get set up but once its running it shud be good

Look at Garmin-slipstream, in 07 they were just a bunch of Americans wearing strange Argle kit and now they've rose up to one of best teams in procycling

leguape

Thomas was 3rd in the KOM at the Baby Giro wasn't he? And won Fleche Du Sud. Might be early in his career for writing him off as a GC rider?

roughestrider

They might have a chance if Cavendish gets well in doing 10km uphill sprints!!

flattythehurdler

There are plenty of people who would have laughed 5 years ago if DB had suggested such a medal sweep at the Olympics. He has always said that winning oa Grand Tour, or even producing a competitive rider would be far harder because of the variables. He has also said on record that ther is a UK junior with the wattage to be a genuine Grand Tour contender. His record speaks for itself. I think It's great. Sky is one of the largest corporate entities around. Linda McCartney pies it ain't. I can't believe the cynicism on here. I get Sky because I enjoy having it. It vexes me that some of my money is going to footballers with the moral compass of a politician-banker, and I don't like football, but it's not bad value for money, and no-one forces it on me. I would far rather my money went on a cycling team.

eh

Everyone seems to forget that the majority of the good GB riders are not that old, even David Millar may still just be available in 5 years time. In theory riders like Cav and Geraint Thomas should be band in their prime in 5 years time, so shortage of GB possible winners. The big thing for me is how is DB going to get a good enough squad to send to all the major races, since being a professional team isn't just about the TDF,

skavanagh.bikeradar

Indeed and I should think the strategy in year 1 will be perform well early season in ASO events and get invite to Tour. Survive Tour. Similar to the chaps at Garmin. It ain't rocket science.

jimmythecuckoo

I am excited. I am already trying to picture the rider line up, what bikes they will ride and the jersey and sponsors.

Good times.

leguape

skavanagh.bikeradar wrote:

Indeed and I should think the strategy in year 1 will be perform well early season in ASO events and get invite to Tour. Survive Tour. Similar to the chaps at Garmin. It ain't rocket science.

I thought Prudhomme had already intimated that a British Pro-Nat team would be welcome at the Tour, after all UK is still what you might term a potential growth market for ASO.

skavanagh.bikeradar

Yep, I'd read that too, but like Garmin they'll have to put on a show early on in order to do a bit of 'we are ready' PR so that it doesn't seem quite so nakedly commerical.

Brailsford has his ducks lined up you can be sure of that.

dimspace

its going to be interesting.... tour winner in five years, not a chance, but its going to be interesting to see how this develops...

Personally i would be surprised if the team is 100% british.. and i can see a few passport applications being put in from a few other commonwealth countries... I also dont see that the existing pelaton brits, cavvy, charlie (who of course would never be invited to join anyway), geraint etc will be interested.. Why is cavvy going to throw away the most productive period of his career racing at a team that on flat stages is built around him to join a new team, even a 2nd year team where those guarantees arnt there.

certainly going to be interesting to see what happens..

iainf72

dimspace wrote:

Personally i would be surprised if the team is 100% british.. and i can see a few passport applications being put in from a few other commonwealth countries.

I believe they've said that it won't be wholly British. Also, remember, Sky has a presence in Italy so I'd expect an Italian flavour to the team too.

John Lee Augustyn has been linked too.

Biffcp

If someone had said in 2006 that within 2 years a Brit would win 4 stages in one Tour there would have been mass sneering.

Biffcp

If someone had said in 2006 that within 2 years a Brit would win 4 stages in one Tour there would have been mass sneering.

Kléber

Cav says no: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/ma ... -cavendish

skavanagh.bikeradar

Inevitable really he's not got a lot of love going with Brailsford and BC just now. Might change if they make a good go of it and offer him a pile of cash though.

graeme_s-2

Hasn't Brailsford always talked about creating an environment where riders will actively want to ride for them? Cav doesn't burn all his bridges, just says he wouldn't consider it at the moment.

iainf72

How long til he gets American citizenship?

CyclingWeekly

cyclingweekly.co.uk had this story yesterday.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/Mar ... 77919.html

jimmythecuckoo

Not the end of the world is it? It would be better for us to have our riders spread out across a number of teams as opposed to having all our eggs in one basket.

skavanagh.bikeradar

True. And in 3 years time if the Sky team is spot on they might be in a positon to tempt him. They need to succeed though for that as Cav has got it all his own way at Columbia, so naturally it's going to take quite an offer and quite a team setup to budge him.

inseine

Though I think that Cav is great, surely he's the last rider they need in the line up if they have overall ambitions in the Tour?

dimspace

racklever wrote:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2009/feb09/feb26news

"One of the new squad's aims is to produce the first British Tour de France winner within the next five years"

Place your bets now ....

What odds you offering

ddraver

Man, you re raking over some old stuff here dimspace!

diplodicus

Interesting read this thread. The cynicism, while reasoned at the time, shows just how well Sky/BC have done since 2009.