Wiggo calls it a day

Kléber

After the Tour, Wiggins will ride the Tour of Britain and then hang up his wheels.

I suppose the Vuelta and the Worlds were always out of the question given he'd Giro-Tour double. Put aside his bank manager and it's probably a season to forget, although the Giro prologue win was bacon-saving stuff. Hopefully things will calm down a bit over the winter.

My advice, all tuppence worth, for 2011 would be to say that if you think you're GT contender then prove it in an early season stage race. Aim to win Paris-Nice, the Criterium International or maybe Romandie, then ease up and build for July. It's much better for the confidence and it's also a good test for the team, the staff and the mental side of things if you can put down some markers.

Gotte

I just hope he dedicates his time to viewing the footage of himself during this year's tour. Hopefully, serious analysis of his interview form will indicate to him how much of a dick he looks in those sunglasses.

calvjones

+ 1 to all this.

Especially needs to look at Andy Schleck & Fab's post-stage bins supplier. those as coool shades... whatever they are

frenchfighter

Good luck on him for trying to do well GC wise. For me I would rather win a stage then finish anonymously in the overall and on every stage and only get pointed out by commentators when he goes backwards at the start of every climb.

He definitely does not merit his salary. Real muppets who decided on 1.2m pounds sterling.

It is worth noting that Lofkvist finished 13th. I am not sure who said he would finish better than Wiggins, but well done that man. Not sure how much he had to wait/help Wiggins. Maybe if he was solo then he could have done a little better.

frenchfighter

Should also say that I am very happy Garmin and JV have a great result in RYDER who rode a very good race.

mididoctors

Kléber wrote:

After the Tour, Wiggins will ride the Tour of Britain and then hang up his wheels.

I suppose the Vuelta and the Worlds were always out of the question given he'd Giro-Tour double. Put aside his bank manager and it's probably a season to forget, although the Giro prologue win was bacon-saving stuff. Hopefully things will calm down a bit over the winter.

My advice, all tuppence worth, for 2011 would be to say that if you think you're GT contender then prove it in an early season stage race. Aim to win Paris-Nice, the Criterium International or maybe Romandie, then ease up and build for July. It's much better for the confidence and it's also a good test for the team, the staff and the mental side of things if you can put down some markers.

the team is important

they never once demonstrated they could defend a jersey... they where real hot and cold as a team effort swinging from convincingly strong on the front to ballsing it right up

they have the talent to ride well ...I think but they have to put it together without choking

Pross

Oh, he's back. Maybe we can hear the defence of how a true champion attacks when his opponent has a problem and also why the man who only ever races to win gifted a stage?

Tom BB

FF-Lofkivist was 17th not 13th

eh

Is this such a smart idea considering Wiggin's love for drink in the off season is up there with Ullrich's love of pies :roll:

tarquin_foxglove

Kléber wrote:

... then ease up and build for July.

Apologies for a 'googleable' question, but did any GC rider that made a three week effort in the Giro, do as well in the Tour? Of the ones I can think of off the top of my head (Basso, Evans, Sastre & Wiggins) they all seemed to under perform.

The Tour was reckoned to be a hard route this year, perhaps the Giro course meant the riders carried a bit too much fatigue to last three weeks.

mididoctors

tarquin_foxglove wrote:

Kléber wrote:

... then ease up and build for July.

Apologies for a 'googleable' question, but did any GC rider that made a three week effort in the Giro, do as well in the Tour? Of the ones I can think of off the top of my head (Basso, Evans, Sastre & Wiggins) they all seemed to under perform.

The Tour was reckoned to be a hard route this year, perhaps the Giro course meant the riders carried a bit too much fatigue to last three weeks.

you forget the awesome power of the calves

iainf72

I think Sky, and Wiggins, know he's not a "real" GC guy. If they want to win the Tour, they need to find someone else.

On the CN / ProCycling podcast Tan Man reckons by the time you factor in the buy out money, he's costing them £2m a year.

Cumulonimbus

tarquin_foxglove wrote:

Kléber wrote:

... then ease up and build for July.

Apologies for a 'googleable' question, but did any GC rider that made a three week effort in the Giro, do as well in the Tour? Of the ones I can think of off the top of my head (Basso, Evans, Sastre & Wiggins) they all seemed to under perform.

The Tour was reckoned to be a hard route this year, perhaps the Giro course meant the riders carried a bit too much fatigue to last three weeks.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/97th-t ... 20/results

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/93rd-g ... 21/results

I think Moreno was the first to do better than in the giro (21 in tdf, 26 in giro).

Mettan

iainf72 wrote:

I think Sky, and Wiggins, know he's not a "real" GC guy. If they want to win the Tour, they need to find someone else.

^^ + 1

squired

We won't ever know, but I doubt his team mates, who are on a fraction of his salary, will be impressed. Let's be honest, he should be targeting some of the upcoming Pro Tour races. Any bets he just cruises round in the tour of Britain? When you are being paid as much as he is, effectively sitting on the sidelines for the next 5-6 months is disgusting.

Kléber

It depends if you raced the Giro too, Wiggo eased up a lot and was following a plan to take it steady, claiming the mileage and racing was what was needed.

Maybe the 2010 Giro was too much, certainly the route was hard but the weather was awful for a long time which must have taken a toll.

iainf72

Also, on the Giro, Evans broke his elbow, Basso got very ill which probably has more to do with their under performance than anything else. If they'd both stayed healthy they would've been in the 6-10th place range.

deejay

Kléber wrote:

After the Tour, Wiggins will ride the Tour of Britain and then hang up his wheels.

My advice, all tuppence worth, for 2011 would be to say that if you think you're GT contender then prove it in an early season stage race. Aim to win Paris-Nice, the Criterium International or maybe Romandie, then ease up and build for July. It's much better for the confidence and it's also a good test for the team, the staff and the mental side of things if you can put down some markers.

Now you must have heard me say before this TDF.
"Bobby Julich" and wiggo will be lucky with a top 10 finish this year after that softy TDF last year.

Julich also failed in his 2nd TDF and then managed to save his career and win some early season stage races. (just like your advice)

FJS

Kléber wrote:

My advice, all tuppence worth, for 2011 would be to say that if you think you're GT contender then prove it in an early season stage race. Aim to win Paris-Nice, the Criterium International or maybe Romandie, then ease up and build for July. It's much better for the confidence and it's also a good test for the team, the staff and the mental side of things if you can put down some markers.

Fully agree. The problem is that he's not paid as much as he is 'just' to win Paris-Nice (which isn't easy) - only convincing the British press that you're going to win the Tour or at least podium brings in enough publicity to warrant his salary. I don't think they did too badly out of him this year from a publicity point of view. From a sports point of view he must be one of the most overpaid riders around. It can't be good for the harmony between all the inner chimps in the team that he does very little for the team while not performing as a leader. I might have missed bits, but what I don't understand is why for instance he didn't do any lead-out train work on the last stage when Flecha and Thomas were pushing at the front. Tony Martin does so, it's not like he has anything to lose. The same for giving something back in the coming weeks in some humbler races.

stagehopper

Wiggins did a large lead out on the Bordeaux stage - might have been knackered after the TT.

Bakunin

Wiggins went out the back very well for almost the entire tour.

He did that very well. Turns out he was the wanker.

paulcuthbert

Does all this mean we won't have to listen to his interviews/moans all the time now?

He's soooooooo booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooring!!!

softlad

paulcuthbert wrote:

Does all this mean we won't have to listen to his interviews/moans all the time now?

you don't have to listen to them anyway....

lloyd_bower

squired wrote:

We won't ever know, but I doubt his team mates, who are on a fraction of his salary, will be impressed. Let's be honest, he should be targeting some of the upcoming Pro Tour races. Any bets he just cruises round in the tour of Britain? When you are being paid as much as he is, effectively sitting on the sidelines for the next 5-6 months is disgusting.

Agree. There's little doubt who got the better of the deal Garmin or Sky! The guys he quoted not doing well in the Tour, all actually tried to win the Giro, rather than sitting back.

In the Tour he was beaten by the 38 year old Armstrong. It's difficult to see what 'an easier' build up next year will offer him.

Pross

Bakunin wrote:

Wiggins went out the back very well for almost the entire tour.

He did that very well. Turns out he was the wanker.

Bit like you then.

Pross

paulcuthbert wrote:

Does all this mean we won't have to listen to his interviews/moans all the time now?

He's soooooooo booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooring!!!

In comparison to? Name me an exciting cycling interviewee?

mroli

Edwin Boassen Hagen. (!)

How can you say Wiggo is boring - he has been baring his soul in the interviews having to put his hands up and say "i've not been good enough, I don't understand it and I'm gutted about it". Compare that to the empty chat of footballers, cricketers etc.

pedro118118

I would imagine he's mentally, as well as physicallty exhausted.

Giro prologue win aside, this season has been a nightmare, but that is always the risk when you put all your eggs in the one basket. Everyone knew it was everything for the Tour and when it became clear (in the prologue?) that he was well off the pace, it must've been very difficult for him and the team.

He's earning the salary of a Grand Tour winner, yes, but you can hardly blame him for that?!

paulcuthbert

Pross wrote:

paulcuthbert wrote:

Does all this mean we won't have to listen to his interviews/moans all the time now?

He's soooooooo booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooring!!!

In comparison to? Name me an exciting cycling interviewee?

Cadel Evans.

"Don't stand on my dog, or I cut your head off"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!"

He's good value - specially with that girly high-pitched voice of his

Will L

As I said on another thread - it's amazing how quick people are to put the knife in.

So he's not had a great season. And?
It may be that he's not a GC contender on the TdF, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but last year's performance indicated he was. He may still be, although I reckon that he's probably more a top 10 candidate than podium - maybe podium in one of the other GTs. It certainly looks (on both year's form) that he will always be limiting losses in the mountains, and going for the TTs as the main areas to gain (that TT time at Bordeaux was, IMO, a lot better than it initially looked). Whatever, he certainly wasn't in the sort of form that he's showed previously. That doesn't make him rubbish. Nor, indeed, does it make him overpaid (and if even if he was, is that his 'fault'?).

The big mistake, I reckon, was Sky putting all their eggs in his basket, as once that went by the board, they really didn't have any strong alternatives. EBH was never really going to take the likes of Cavendish on after all.

As for boring? Like mroli, I find that hard to believe - honest more like.

lloyd bower wrote:

In the tour he was beaten by the 38 year old Armstrong. It's difficult to see what 'an easier' build up next year will offer him.

He was only beaten by LA because he sat up for the Tourmalet day, where Armstrong took 19 minutes out on him.

sherer

think Wiggo needs to work out what sort of a rider he is. Yes he had a great TdF in 09 but did anyone really think he was going to challenge Contador and Schleck. Going into this years tour you had 2 Schlecks, Contador, Evans, any number of Radio Shack riders, Sastre and a host of others who are proven at this level and were expect to finish higher than him. I would have throught the brains at Sky could see this coming a mile off.

As others said Wiggo needs to try a few short stage races first and see if he can win them rather than going for a GC podium from the off