Can Wiggins Win the Tour this Year?

victorponf

I can´t see it, Wiggins reminds me Kohl, suddenly a amazing performance

The Prodigy

DaveyL wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

Why go that far back when you have the first week of this year's Tour:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12635233&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

It even has a picture of a flying pig

Good to look back over that one.

aurelio - banned 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.

Wiggins showed little interest in GC placings before 2009 so its hardly surprising he has improved. Since he never really put in much effort in the past we didn't really know what he was capable of. We do now. Sort of.

I would have thought there is still abit of improvement to be had as well,plus Brailsford is a man with a plan. Whether that will help Brad or not though I'm not sure.

British Tour winner within 5 years, is Brad the man? Or is there someone else Brailsford has his eye on?

pat1cp

frenchfighter wrote:

Wiggins will likely be better than last year given he is happy, has very good team personel, is more focused on one event, will have a better bike fit for climbing (according to him) and will have another year of training in him.

But then Schleck will also be better as his TTing will improve.

Contador will be better also if simply because his mind will be free from stupid outside influences.

Bike fit maybe, but according to his twitter:-
"have a meeting with Pinerello soon to get weight down on the Dogma"

Wasn't Lance having to ballast his Trek with spanners to comply with the UCI minimum weight limit ???

Classic Italian over priced, over weight, melty, bendy thing !!!! :?

RichN95.

The Prodigy wrote:

British Tour winner within 5 years, is Brad the man? Or is there someone else Brailsford has his eye on?

Peter Kennaugh, apparently.

bigmat

I think some of the existing Brit Pros will step it up a lot this season - expect last year's Wiggins effect on the likes of Thomas and Froome. Thomas has been going very well in pre-season and could be one to watch.

hockinsk

With questions asking can one rider beat another, I always think back to Bernard Hinault's statement when asked if he can beat Merckx and does he fear him or not? Hinault replies "He has a head, two arms, two legs, just as I" and the true is same for Wiggins on Contador.

I believe Wiggins will be second this year though. It will take Team Sky two seasons to really get the 'team' to gel, much like it took Columbia a year and then this season they just killed it. Columbia are a very professional team, but with average back room staff. Brailsford's staff are just taking the professionalism and science side of cycling to another level.

If we think back to winning margins and what caused that margin, LeMond won using science and bike technology, as did Indurain and Armstrong was a fanatic when it came to using it.

timoid.

Ah but you're talking about Hinault, probably the third greatest to ever sit on a bike. He was young and upcoming and Merckx was in decline.

The only way Wiggins beats Contador is through an accident or some other misfortune. Even then Schleck the younger and Gesink beat him regardless.

hockinsk

It was the 'meaning' of Hinault's statement, not the that it was Bernard Hinault saying it. i.e. every rider is just flesh and bones. If you know you can maintain a certain wattage for a period of time, you know you can win Le Tour. The rest is mainly a phycological battle as Armstrong continually says so. It's all in the riders head, not his legs. If any rider thinks another rider is unbeatable or somehow above him, they will never win.

Wiggin's and Team Sky believes he can beat everyone and that's the only path worth staying on. He'll also have a team with members who can climb this year. VDV helped greatly, but Wiggin's never had team control on any mountain other than setting a high pace at the very lowest slopes and that's not playing to Wiggin's strengths.

iainf72

hockinsk wrote:

Wiggin's and Team Sky believes he can beat everyone and that's the only path worth staying on. He'll also have a team with members who can climb this year. VDV helped greatly, but Wiggin's never had team control on any mountain other than setting a high pace at the very lowest slopes and that's not playing to Wiggin's strengths.

Garmin are a better mountain team than Sky by a long way. Cycle Sport magazine recently scored them against each other and Sky came out weaker.

hockinsk

And CycleSport predicted VDV, Evans & Sastre would finish 'much' higher up GC than Wiggins. We will re-visit this thread in July : )

PauloBets

Bradley is a great climber now. he was on the front on many hilly stages of le tour so he can do it. Down with you naysayers. Wiggo is proof of clean racing

iainf72

PauloBets wrote:

Bradley is a great climber now. he was on the front on many hilly stages of le tour so he can do it. Down with you naysayers. Wiggo is proof of clean racing

What flavour was the Sky Kool Aid you drank?

Gazzetta67

I Reckon the Wannabee MOD could finish in the top 10 if his Vespa does not pack in going up the Tourmalet

I dont even think he was a Itch in his dads pants when Weller wrote Down in the Tube Station At Midnight ..

jerry3571

With a weak Team, Wiggins needed another big name so he could ride shotgun and follow the wheels whilst a rider such as Sastre does all the attacking.
If Wiggins is up there and is attacked in the Mountains then the other rider could jump on the wheels and sit in and not work. The Team wouldn't need to do a huge amount of work if you have got 2 plans to win. Rasmussen would have been good; OOH!! Did I really say that!! Shame on me!! Bad boy!!
If Wiggins would get the Jersey then all hell would break loose as other Teams would look to dominate. Wiggins needs to be close second or third after the Pyrenees and try to take them on in the last TT. Contador would have to be at home with some kind man flu or had a stage where he bonked big time. He would have totake time out of people like Evans before the TT as well.
I wouldn't say it is impossible but... almost impossible.

I like people's faith in Wiggins being Dope Free. A nice idea but without any proof. He acted last year as if he wasn't on too many Steriods as his form dipped towards the end. A good signal but that's all, a good signal only. (I'd given up on hoping that anyone is dope free a LOOOOOOOOONG time ago).

-Jerry

all show no go

Gazzetta67 wrote:

I Reckon the Wannabee MOD could finish in the top 10 if his Vespa does not pack in going up the Tourmalet

I dont even think he was a Itch in his dads pants when Weller wrote Down in the Tube Station At Midnight ..

First of all he rides a Lammy....

http://twitpic.com/ph9x2

And secondly, Down In The Tube Station At Midnight was released in October '78 with Bradley being born the following April. So Bradder's dad (Gary) had already had the itch in his pants scratched by his missus.

ta ta......

paulcuthbert

Have Team Sky got their invitation to the Tour yet?

That could hold Wiggins (and LA, incidentally) from winning it this year...

verylonglegs

Well if I was a betting man, which I am, I'd quite happily lay Wiggins on betfair which I will do. I'd be happy for him prove me wrong and win it but I really can't see it.

lucybears

paulcuthbert wrote:

Have Team Sky got their invitation to the Tour yet?

No, but they will.

If they can get Wiggins by making JV an offer he can't refuse (2 million or legal action), I'm sure they can do the same to Marie-Odile

pontarlier_pete

jerry3571 wrote:

I like people's faith in Wiggins being Dope Free. A nice idea but without any proof. He acted last year as if he wasn't on too many Steriods as his form dipped towards the end. A good signal but that's all, a good signal only. (I'd given up on hoping that anyone is dope free a LOOOOOOOOONG time ago).

-Jerry

And all this time I thought it was innocent until proven guilty.... Silly me, I didn't realise it was the other way around.

lucybears

Pontarlier Pete wrote:

And all this time I thought it was innocent until proven guilty.... Silly me, I didn't realise it was the other way around.

French legal system - under the Napoleonic code there is a presumption of guilt unless the defendant can prove innocence.

RichN95.

Well as we may looking at this thread again at the end July, I'll say he'll be better than in 2009. This may not mean he'll finish higher - but I'll say top 6.