Wiggins - GT contender?

iain_j

Absolutely brilliant Brad, well done.

rockmount

The real deal I'd say .... a revelation !

Slow Downcp

Fantastic ride yesterday. I don't think he'll stay with the big names to the end but his progress from TT specialist to all rounder is going well. It'd be nice to think he can make top 10, but probably not this year - could be a good bet for future shorter stage races though.

aurelio_-_banned

afx237vi wrote:

I wonder what CVV thinks of Wiggo's GC ambitions?

Tour record

2007, DNF, Cofidis withdrew after stage 16 due to Moreni positive
2006, 123rd

Giro record

2009, 71st
2008, 134th
2005, 123rd
2003, DNF, outside time limit stage 18

With a record like that we may see him win the Tour a number of times. After all Indurain, Riis and Armstrong all won the Tour after having a similarly mediocre early Grand Tour record. It's almost a pity that Wiggins is so anti-doping.

chriskempton

+1 great riding of course - a future Sky team leader??

markos1963

Top ride from Brad and he seems to be going well today. I reckon Paul Smith will have to design him a mod bandana to wear and Brad's mechanic will have to put some extra tape on his drops as well.

hockinsk

I think what was most impressive, was he put pressure on everyone else in the last 1km. Contador was gone and everone else was loosing 'podium' seconds. Wiggin's isn;t going for podium, yet he was one of the strongest at the top. If Wiggo can recover day after day, ride some good luck (Garmin are due some) he's easily top 20 I reckon.

a_n_t

markos1963 wrote:

and Brad's mechanic will have to put some extra tape on his drops as well.

or a sh1t load of mirrors.

jimycooper

chriskempton wrote:

+1 great riding of course - a future Sky team leader??

he said himself he wasnt going,,, i know, a great shame

dave_1

great to see Wiggins finally transition. looked like having a career similar to or less than Boardman a few years back, with no big big prologue wins e.g. when landis was beating him in the Dauphine prologue or some such races in 06 but he looks good now..maybe age?...hitting 30 and few road years compromised by track, being obscured by Hoy on the track and by Cav on rd, but all meaning he is only developing as a roadman now

drewfromrisca

markos1963 wrote:

I reckon Paul Smith will have to design him a mod bandana to wear.

Sorry markos but us mods dont wear bandana's

NervexProf

It's now 'Twiggo' !


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... ggins.html

gregssmirkingrevenge

aurelio wrote:

afx237vi wrote:

I wonder what CVV thinks of Wiggo's GC ambitions?

Tour record

2007, DNF, Cofidis withdrew after stage 16 due to Moreni positive
2006, 123rd

Giro record

2009, 71st
2008, 134th
2005, 123rd
2003, DNF, outside time limit stage 18

With a record like that we may see him win the Tour a number of times. After all Indurain, Riis and Armstrong all won the Tour after having a similarly mediocre early Grand Tour record. It's almost a pity that Wiggins is so anti-doping.

It's certainly exciting to see wiggins climbing with the best in the world and this is encouraging for our british hopes for grand tour success with team sky.

I'm interested to know why you're so sure he would not dope though? Presuming big bad Lance is doping and Contador and Leipheimer by association. Where do Evans, Wiggins, Vandervelde and the Shlecks fit in?

Or is doping simply an issue relating to recovery over a long race? i.e. if Wiggo is still climbing with the big boys come the third week should we be concerned?

Le Commentateur

His position on GC is evidence that the real batlles on the climbs between most of the GC contenders haven't happened yet, Contador's gallop the other day being merely the closing of the door for Lance's hopes of a last yellow jersey.

I'm hoping Bradley can get over the Tourmalet unscathed then let rip with others on the long run in to the finish, hopefully isolating those who aren't concentrating, like Spartacus did last year to Valverde.

procarbon

Kléber wrote:

Wiggins is still sixth overall, 38 seconds behind Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) and Lance Armstrong (Astana). He is still convinced he can be an overall contender.

"I'm in the form of my life. I think I go top 15 physically, even top 10," he says.

"It's just that so much goes in to that, you've got to be on it every day. I lost 40 seconds the other day for lack of concentration. Cadel (Evans) is four minutes behind already for no fault of his own. I'm still there, I'm still in the ball park, so I've got to keep plugging away. I've got to stay with Dave (Millar) and Christian (Vande Velde) because they've got the experience. I've got to try and get through the Pyrenees as close as possible to the best guys."

From Cycling Weekly

Exciting stuff. Discuss...

Le Commentateur

Interesting to see on the valley road after the Tourmalet Lance being protected by at least two Astanas while Bertie was riding alone, sheltering from the wind behind riders from other teams.

mididoctors

edit wrong thread!

NervexProf

Interesting article and video 3.31 with Twig - and his new haircut!


http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/arti ... -abilities

Unsheath

It's doubtful he'll ever win a prologue now given his loss of top end power, but the flipside is he's looking very comfortable on the cols. With this years route he's every chance to crack a top ten given his prowess on the TT where he should gain some time on the other contenders. He's already got decent splits from Evans/Sastre/Menchov after the impressive garmin TTT.

dave_1

if Wiggins is clean, then does that make LAs career easier to believe? They both have similar time in years between starting GTs, and struggling through grand tours fr a few years and finally riding well in GT GC. LA 1993-1997. Wiggins 2003-2008...Indurain likewise, started Vuelta 1985, lead it...and showed up in GT GC racing as a strong climber 5 years later. We see some pattern here, maybe?

all show no go

He's lost a further 2kg since the Giro. Should we be worried..........

phreak

He was down as 71kg in Beijing so if he's lost 7kg since then he's weighing in at just 64kg, which for someone of 6'3" is incredibly thin. I know BMI isn't always the best tool to use but that gives him a score of 17, with 18.5 being classed as underweight.

Kléber

He reckons he is producing the same power as he did in the Olympics, but with 7kg less. With the weight loss his climbing (determined by power to weight) has improved. He might also see marginal gains in aerodynamics. It'll be fascinating to see how he does in the Alps.

dilemna

Better to be a contender whose in it than a no mark whose not and doesn't try or realise he could have been.

As Brando said in On the Waterfront "I could have been a contender."

teagar

It all depends on how he recovers surely?

We've seen him climb with the best, and we know he can TT, but we don't know whether he can keep it up for three weeks.

Sastre's a good climber, but come week three he becomes an excellent climber.

calvjones

Dave_1 wrote:

if Wiggins is clean, then does that make LAs career easier to believe? They both have similar time in years between starting GTs, and struggling through grand tours fr a few years and finally riding well in GT GC. LA 1993-1997. Wiggins 2003-2008...Indurain likewise, started Vuelta 1985, lead it...and showed up in GT GC racing as a strong climber 5 years later. We see some pattern here, maybe?

Um... no. When Wiggins starts dropping Italians in the high cols of the Giro, then you might have a point. He's not dropping proven-dopers consistently like LA did.

aurelio_-_banned

Dave_1 wrote:

if Wiggins is clean, then does that make LAs career easier to believe? They both have similar time in years between starting GTs, and struggling through grand tours fr a few years and finally riding well in GT GC. LA 1993-1997. Wiggins 2003-2008...Indurain likewise, started Vuelta 1985, lead it...and showed up in GT GC racing as a strong climber 5 years later. We see some pattern here, maybe?

On the other hand there have been no really big tests in the Tour so far. Let's see how fast they all climb Mt. Ventoux, comparing the time with what Armstrong / Pantani did in 2000. Oh, and surely the supposed 'pattern' you suggest doesn't really exist until Wiggins actually wins a few Grand Tours.

shinyhelmut

You might also want to consider that until last year Wiggins was training principally as a track rider, riding on the road where it fit in his schedule. I don't think this really compares with LA, Riis, Indurain etc. who were always roadies.

dave_1

aurelio wrote:

Dave_1 wrote:

if Wiggins is clean, then does that make LAs career easier to believe? They both have similar time in years between starting GTs, and struggling through grand tours fr a few years and finally riding well in GT GC. LA 1993-1997. Wiggins 2003-2008...Indurain likewise, started Vuelta 1985, lead it...and showed up in GT GC racing as a strong climber 5 years later. We see some pattern here, maybe?

On the other hand there have been no really big tests in the Tour so far. Let's see how fast they all climb Mt. Ventoux, comparing the time with what Armstrong / Pantani did in 2000. Oh, and surely the supposed 'pattern' you suggest doesn't really exist until Wiggins actually wins a few Grand Tours.

true...I suspect the Ventoux ascent this year will be slower...I see the times up to Arcalis were nearly 3 minutes slower than Ullrich's record breaking power output in 1997, though there was a headwind this year...but it was a climb so how much of a difference it made I don't know.

I am only suggesting that to be a decent to good grand tour GC rider , it can take about 4 or 5 years of riding one or two of them a year as a lower level domestique before developing into a serious climber- the likes of which anyone in the top 10 of final GC must be. Not saying it shows LA is clean...just that he, like MI and BW, also developed gradually and therefore, perhaps the GC results are some reflection of the rider's talent.

dave_1

calvjones wrote:

Dave_1 wrote:

if Wiggins is clean, then does that make LAs career easier to believe? They both have similar time in years between starting GTs, and struggling through grand tours fr a few years and finally riding well in GT GC. LA 1993-1997. Wiggins 2003-2008...Indurain likewise, started Vuelta 1985, lead it...and showed up in GT GC racing as a strong climber 5 years later. We see some pattern here, maybe?

Um... no. When Wiggins starts dropping Italians in the high cols of the Giro, then you might have a point. He's not dropping proven-dopers consistently like LA did.

hey, I am defo not suggesting Wiggins is juiced...if anything his gradual progress suggests he is clean and am suggesting that one can develop into being a grand tour climber rather than it just being down to drugs and so the 4-5 year development phase that Wiggo, Indurain and LA all appear to show suggests you need some talent to be a GC climber, not only EPO. I think Wiggins is clean. I hope he grabs some limelight off cav..