"I'm f*ked mate"

Pokerface

Wiggins being refreshingly honest about how the Tour has gone for him:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins ... e-the-form

Basically admitting he doesn't have the form and that last year was a fluke. But vows to keep riding to Paris.


(link edited)

Doobz

Looks like CN changed the linky

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins-admits-he-doesnt-have-the-form

deejay

Pokerface wrote:

Wiggins being refreshingly honest about how the Tour has gone for him:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins ... as-a-fluke


Basically admitting he doesn't have the form and that last year was a fluke. But vows to keep riding to Paris.

No, you rode well in that Tour but unfortunately no one told you that tour was one of the easiest tours for years.

This year we have a Real "Le Tour" and your management and the British media have hyped you up to something I'm sorry to say, you never will be without far more time in the mountains.
Two words - Bobby Julich
He was put in the same position and it's on record what happened.

I could have told you this before christmas after the route was announced.

AndyRubio

Time for Sky to *recalibrate* - which could mean someone needs to find Dr Ferrari's telephone number pretty quickly.

William H

No Wiggo, don't "limit your losses". There's no point any more. Get into the breakaways

ms_tree

William H wrote:

No Wiggo, don't "limit your losses". There's no point any more. Get into the breakaways

+1
As Sean says a stage win means more and is remembered more that 15th on the GC.

micron

Honest but daft - why say it was a fluke? On that parcours and with the team he had he carried the advantage of the TTT through 3 weeks to a good finish - can be legitimately argued that his result, that year, was legitimate (even though I'd still say it was a fluke ).

As many above have said, he would have been better not to talk himself up so much once he saw the parcours.

Gazzaputt

AndyRubio wrote:

Time for Sky to *recalibrate* - which could mean someone needs to find Dr Ferrari's telephone number pretty quickly.

Sorry even if tongue in cheek that's a stupid comment.

Sheptastic

Way to kick a guy when he's down Deejay. What else was he ment to say as the leader of the UK's Premier team?
' Actually last year was a bit of luck, dont bother watching this years tour, i'll probably be dropped on evry climb and finish ouside the top 20' ?


Presumably he'll climb a few places in the ITT

stagehopper

deejay wrote:

No, you rode well in that Tour but unfortunately no one told you that tour was one of the easiest tours for years ... I could have told you this before christmas after the route was announced.

"I will always remember one thing that [Garmin manager] Jonathan Vaughters said to me last year: if I get a route based around my strengths I can finish on the podium. Last year I was 30 seconds off third place; this year I will take whatever I can get."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/20 ... -de-france

... and EVERYONE was talking about how much harder the Tour would be this year from before Wiggins transferred from Garmin. It hardly came as a surprise to him.

paulcuthbert

William H wrote:

No Wiggo, don't "limit your losses". There's no point any more. Get into the breakaways

Am I the only one that can see the irony in the similarity of "limiting losses" and "marginal gains"
:?:

Kléber

The Sky press officer must have been on the blower, the "last year was a fluke" line was quite embarrassing. Nice to see that even if he can't ride as fast, he can still talk blunt.

autobahn

I keep thinking about the the size of the financial package he is meant to be on. £2 mill, over 2 years?
Thats a lot for someone who could finish outside the top 15.
I really wanted him to do well, however I dont thinks its form, he's just not good enough to get a podium place.
Cant knock him for taking the money, you have to ask who bull****ed the Murdocks to get all that money out of them?

Snorebens

Kléber wrote:

The Sky press officer must have been on the blower, the "last year was a fluke" line was quite embarrassing. Nice to see that even if he can't ride as fast, he can still talk blunt.

Sky banned him from Twitter, saying he was too forthright. Presumably said press officer wasn't there today.

Kléber

It was Bryan Nygaard who banned him from Sky; the Dane's resigned from Sky. But yes, the team like to control their image and having their star rider, for whom they paid millions, pop up and go "I'm farked and by the way last year's result was a fluke" is the stuff of nightmares.

If the press officer could decide on tactics... Wiggo's going in the early breakaway tomorrow

afx237vi

Autobahn wrote:

I keep thinking about the the size of the financial package he is meant to be on. £2 mill, over 2 years?
Thats a lot for someone who could finish outside the top 15.
I really wanted him to do well, however I dont thinks its form, he's just not good enough to get a podium place.
Cant knock him for taking the money, you have to ask who bull****ed the Murdocks to get all that money out of them?

Is he really on £2m for a two year contract? I read that a few days ago as well, but have a hard time believing a cyclist can early 20 grand a week. Some Premiership footballers wouldn't turn that down!

Karl2010

Hasnt he lost weight this year aswel? Maybe that is a factor as to why he's f**ked.

Pokerface

Kléber wrote:

It was Bryan Nygaard who banned him from Sky; the Dane's resigned from Sky.

I'm confused. :oops:

RichN95.

afx237vi wrote:

Is he really on £2m for a two year contract? I read that a few days ago as well, but have a hard time believing a cyclist can early 20 grand a week. Some Premiership footballers wouldn't turn that down!

A few of them can - here's an article from the WSJ from two years ago (written by the same guy who's doing the Arastrong stuff). Valverde - $4m !

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121693264451182277.html

afx237vi

RichN95 wrote:

afx237vi wrote:

Is he really on £2m for a two year contract? I read that a few days ago as well, but have a hard time believing a cyclist can early 20 grand a week. Some Premiership footballers wouldn't turn that down!

A few of them can - here's an article from the WSJ from two years ago (written by the same guy who's doing the Arastrong stuff). Valverde - $4m !

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121693264451182277.html

Interesting. But even so, Valverde was at least guaranteed to get you some victories (regardless of how he got them). Wiggins, on the other hand...

eh

Lets be honest he is having a stinker. While he was overhyped in the english speaking press, a top 10 should have been realistic. Possibly even worse he is being beaten by a team mate, which is the stuff of nightmares.

The whole of the TDF for Sky so far, with a few exceptions (Geraint mostly) has been poor Still 1 week for a possible turn around, but I can't see it at present with the riders they have.

Kléber

I think I read that Wiggo's on close to a million quid; but two million US dollars, that was the sum Garmin landed from his transfer fee.

No wonder Vaughters has a thing for fine wine.

inkyfingers

I knew he could never win it but did think he would get a solid top 10 or even top 5 at best so i'm a bit dissapointed.

I do think that Sky's tactc of aiming almost entirely at the TDF was a mistake. I do wonder whether his problem may be partly a lack of racing. Apart from a podium in Murcia (decided in the TT) and his excellent Giro prologue he just seems to have soft pedalled most of the season. Maybe next year he ought to focus on the classics and maybe be the daupine so that he comes into the tour with some race form?

pedro118118

It's been dissapointing for him and the team - a couple of days in the white jersey isn't really what Sky were hoping for, I'm sure.

That said, there's still the best part of a week left to salvage something. Sadly, I can't see Wiggo being given any room in breakaways, as the other high-placing GC guys who can't TT will want to keep him on a tight leash. And in any event, I don't see him having the legs. Yes, the TT's coming up, but he looks spent.

Interesting, if slightly mean, article by Kimmage in the ST yesterday. Using his usual 20-20 hindlsight, he was questioning Sky's lack of a Plan B (Hendo?), especially given they knew full well that Wiggins wasn't in good form coming into the Tour.

Kléber

What I'd like to know is that given they've said Wiggins's numbers were off, that his form was not as good as last year, why the team rode so much to support him?

It might have been better to say "Wiggo's only at 90%", let him ride the GC but to use the other riders for a stage win or morel It's been very rare to see Sky in the breaks and attacks. Lofquist for example is a great rider but he's been reduced to domestique duty so far.

patchy

perhaps they were hoping he'd ride into form over the course of the Tour? limit losses for the first week, stick with the leaders in the Alps, and then see what happens come the Pyrenees?

i for one think it's at least half psychological. I suspect Wiggins has had doubts in his mind about whether he'd be able to repeat last year's performance since the parcours was announced last October.... and that's been eating away at him all season. Being dropped on the way to Station de Rousses just confirmed it in his head - and he's not believed himself to be top 5 (maybe not even top 10) since.

iainf72

I've heard it both ways. I'd heard Wiggins numbers were "where they needed to be" but I've also heard that before the Tour they knew he wasn't as good as he should be. Perhaps the prologue was indicative of a rider who wasn't in the best shape.

Sky are in need of a GC guy. With Wiggins and Tommy L, you'd be able to provide pretty good mountain support. They also need some sensible DS'ing. How many times this season have we sat there wonder WTF they were up to? I don't buy this "it's a new team" lark.

I see the Sky Jag even broke down yesterday.

Anyway, I'm sure they'll try get into breaks and you never know.

PeteinSQ

I think part of the justification for Bradley's high salary is that he is the best British rider in terms of GC performance. For the same money SKY could maybe have hired Contador or someone like that who would have a really excellent chance of winning the tour but as Sky is supposed to be a british team aiming at a british winner they had to go with the best british rider. As there's only one who has any chance of doing at all well in the GC his market value is quite high as a result - plus he was 4th last year.

inkyfingers

iainf72 wrote:

I see the Sky Jag even broke down yesterday.

My dad used to have a Jag. They don't break down, they just need a rest ocassionally!

bazbadger

Wonder if Sky feel a bit embarrased about their "bus" yet?

Can't help feeling they are a little "all the gear and not much idea" at the moment... Maybe a bit harsh given early days for the team, but surely better to start small and work up than big and fall down.

pedro118118

PeteinSQ wrote:

I think part of the justification for Bradley's high salary is that he is the best British rider in terms of GC performance. For the same money SKY could maybe have hired Contador or someone like that who would have a really excellent chance of winning the tour but as Sky is supposed to be a british team aiming at a british winner they had to go with the best british rider. As there's only one who has any chance of doing at all well in the GC his market value is quite high as a result - plus he was 4th last year.

I agree.

Being British certainly seems to generate a premium value (on a British team) and whilst it is very handsome salary for a rider who wins the odd prologue/short TT, he remains the best GT stage-racer we (the UK) have. This Tour has been hard for him, but I still think, under normal circumstances, he is Top 10 material.

The inconvenient truth is that even on his best form, he is way off the level of Schleck & Contador, and what with more young talent coming through (and established names), it is possbily a step too far for him to replicate (or better) 2009.

From what I've heard though, he (and Sky) will put all their eggs in the Tour basket next year.