Team Sky - How they doing to date?

autobahn

Considering we are well into the season and the emphasis for 2011 was not to be basing everything around the TDF, how do think they've done year to date? Will they be happy with their progress?

Turfle

Pretty good season. Very bad Giro.

Still not winning enough short tours, but there seems to be good development of their younger guys (Swift, Appollonio, Thomas).

rebs

Think the Giro is sort of going as expected for the Grio. Don't think it has been that bad considering they took alot of people who they simply wanted to survive. Good showing in the springs. Lofvist may have expected to do more. But everyone else performing as expected.

They do seem to suffer alot of sickness to many riders lately. Rogers, Uran Cummings all being very ill.

rozzer32

Well Team SKY have easily been the worst team of the this years Giro.

P_Tucker

rozzer32 wrote:

Well Team SKY have easily been the worst team of the this years Giro.

I didn't actually realise they were riding.

Ilovebighills

Wiggo beat Cancellara in the TT and Thomas is leading the Bayern Rundfahrt

Tom Butcher

Another below par season so far from where I'm sitting but with a bit of promise for the future. I think there main problem is there big money riders - Wiggins and Boasson Hagen - just haven't performed - I don't call a podium at Paris Nice performing given what Wiggins is reported to be earning.

They go into grand tours with no real sprint contender and no serious GC podium contender - which means they really need to do something special in the classics or minor tours - and they haven't.

cal_stewart

The team looks weak for GTs in this modern age you need more than one GT contender in your team. They do look good for the future. They need to spend at the years end. Cav maybe for wins as I don't think there is a GT contender worth getting. So developing one maybe the only option which will take time leaving cav as a good option for wins until a GT contender can be developed. Also looking forward to see what wiggo does in the TDF even if it just tells us 09 was a one off.

Gazzetta67

Ilovebighills wrote:

Wiggo beat Cancellara in the TT and Thomas is leading the Bayern Rundfahrt

Wow that will keep the sponsors happy am sure - What race is this again the fart something just watch them jump up the rankings now 8) Ben Swift has won more races than the leader and he`s prob on a pittance compared to the wannabee mod.

squired

If you go by overall results they've done ok. If you look at World Tour results, not so good. They are still struggling when it comes to stage races. Plenty of potential (Appollionio, Thomas, Kennaugh, etc) but not much from the guys who should be getting big results.

Injuries (again) to EBH and Michael Rogers being ill have been a hinderence. In the Giro Lovkvist has apparently been unwell and struggling as a result. I don't know how long they signed him for, but if his contract is up this season I can't see why Sky would keep him.

I personally think the next 3 months will be the key period in their season. First they need to get results in the Dauphine and in Switzerland. Then we have the big one in July. After that they have a few guys who could bring in some results in August.

If I was to pick one guy to be the star performer in the next 3 months I'd go with Uran. I'm betting that he will be the highest placed rider in GC in the Tour (assuming he rides). In fact, I'm expecting him to end up at the highest ranked rider in the squad at the end of the season too (if not, only EBH will be higher).

Pennine Daz

I personally think long term geraint thomas should be backed to the hilt. Just my feeling but all round they should get a team that works for him.
I do hope that happens.

Chung Mee

Does anyone know why Arvesen pulled out of the Tour of California? I've had a look around the net but can't find an explanation anywhere.

On the Team Sky website, he didn't finish his last three races

Paris - Roubaix - DNF;
Amstel Gold Race - DNF;
Tour of California - DNF;

His own website is months out of date

http://www.kurtaslearvesen.no/index.php?Itemid=19

Cumulonimbus

Chung Mee wrote:

Does anyone know why Arvesen pulled out of the Tour of California? I've had a look around the net but can't find an explanation anywhere.

On the Team Sky website, he didn't finish his last three races

Paris - Roubaix - DNF;
Amstel Gold Race - DNF;
Tour of California - DNF;

His own website is months out of date

http://www.kurtaslearvesen.no/index.php?Itemid=19

Quite a lot of people dont finish PR and AGR. He retired on stage 4 of the giro, along with Jeremy Hunt, apparently they got dropped early in the stage after having done a lot of work the day before.

http://www.teamsky.com/article/0,27290, ... 19,00.html

oldwelshman

I dont think Thomas is for GC but more for classics and main lead out man for when they sign Cav.
Some interesting comments and criticisms .
kenough is one for the future for GC for sure.
Appolonio pushed Cav close in giro sprint and Ben Swift and Henderson sprinted well in USA so a bit unfair to say they have no sprinters and look at how strong a lead out they can put out with full team.
Can't please evryone.
I look forard to anothe welsh rider with them next year :?

Chung Mee

Thanks for that link, which contains

"It’s too bad for them but when you get left behind on a stage like that there’s not a lot you can do when you know you‘re not going to make the time limit. "

I also admire KAA. Do I get called a "troll" for admiring him too?

ms_tree

Secondo me it's a bit of an insult not to try and do something at the Giro - apart from Downing that is. Why bother to go at all? (yeah I realise they have to as part of the Pro Tour) Are they thinking they can do something big at the Tour instead? Talk about not starting slowly and working up.

thamacdaddy

As last time this got brought up (a few weeks back) some here are being overly harsh. They have money yes (so do katusha and their results aren't setting the world alight either) but they are still a developing team without maybe that major signing. Wiggins is decent and with the lower key start maybe he can silence a few critics but who knows.

I think people have short memories. They are mid table world rankings, they were all over the front of races in the classics with some great performances. They did well at tour of Cali, Paris nice, oman and there is a
Good 6-7 weeks for a couple of great races including the biggy and
Going on the last week the form is there. Apollino was consistent in all the sprints in the giro and personally I think Russ Downing deserves a lot of credit for his giro.

It's funny though because I don't see so much criticism of quickstep (cataldo has really been the only shining light) or radioshack, both of whom don't have tiny budgets, both of whom have bigger named riders and probably expect more from early season. That said it's still not hit the big portion of the season and maybe all judgements of teams should probably wait till end f season. Given the scandals in cycling at the minute I think any sponsor would be happy to have a
Scandal free team who are present and camera present in most races. I think this season they have more to give, the giro team didn't lookthe strongest but I would expect the tdf team to gain more results.

rick_chasey

I think they're ok.

They win and colour races, and they seem to be very keen on bringing along talent.

They were definitely in the top half, if not top quarter for the classics.

Their GT stuff is a little more difficult, but I think that's partly because they're a young team and the experience they have isn't especially GT orientated and is spread a little thin.

The only caveat to all of this is their budget which is enormous.

What is nice to see is that, despite their chat last year, they genuinely seem to take cycling in its entirety, across the whole season, seriously, unlike, say, Radioshack....

Pennine Daz

Maybe there just a clean team

Jez mon

Their problem is the lack of an out and out star rider. Within the peleton, you have a number of riders who are practically guaranteed to have very strong seasons. Riders like Contador, cancellara, cavendish. Sky have some riders who are very strong, but no star rider imo.

thamacdaddy

Saying that they did have a deal on the table for cancellara this ylear but he was determined to go to leopard with the schlecks. I think it was probably a better deal as well

cogidubnus

When do we find out their Tour team? I for one would love to see Swift mixing it in the sprints esp now they have the lead out train working better now. Brad is looking very lean and in form so I can see him being in the top 10 for the tdf

prb007

Pennine Daz wrote:

I personally think long term geraint thomas should be backed to the hilt. Just my feeling but all round they should get a team that works for him.
I do hope that happens.

+1 for pushing Geraint T to the fore - he could easily
have been the first Welshman ever to wear yellow in
last year's TdF, had Canc had a bad day.
Unless Wiggo gets anorexia again, I fancy 2009
will be written off as his zenith as a pro!
Go GT for the GT's

mr_poll

prb007 wrote:

Unless Wiggo gets anorexia again, I fancy 2009

Looking pretty lean here

http://www.teamsky.com/article/0,27290,21249_6956913,00.html

re squad for the TdF - half the squad at the Crit Dauphine will be at the TdF - dont know which half though.

smithy21

I think they are doing ok. At the risk of fanboy accusations I still think it is great there is a team from the UK in the top rank of pro cycling which is bringing through talent.

As far as results go they could do better and probably the lack of a star rider hurts them. Pip, Cancellara etc are all going to guarantee results.

Their Giro was shocking. I expected more from Lofqvist. The squad lacked depth but I still thought they could have done better and sent people up the road more often particulalry in the stages which looked set for breaks.

I do think that as they lack GT depth they probably did need to focus on the TdF (sounds a bit like last year) but I think they will have two (Wiggins and Uran) in the top 20 and one of those will top 10. Not sure which way round they will be.

Cumulonimbus

smithy21 wrote:

Their Giro was shocking. I expected more from Lofqvist. The squad lacked depth but I still thought they could have done better and sent people up the road more often particulalry in the stages which looked set for breaks.

Yes, Lovkvist got ill early on and Cioni (finished about 20th last year) did as well later on. The squad was never going to set the Giro on fire but it would have been nice to see them represented in a few more breaks.

smithy21 wrote:

I do think that as they lack GT depth they probably did need to focus on the TdF (sounds a bit like last year) but I think they will have two (Wiggins and Uran) in the top 20 and one of those will top 10. Not sure which way round they will be.

Thats the problem for Sky. They focus on the TdF a lot as the British audience do as well (although dont Sky have some Italian business?). Doing the Giro is not the best thing when building for the tour, especially when it is a tough course like this year. After the classics, its much better to take some time out then start doing some one week races.

Cumulonimbus

Sean Yates' Giro wrap-up

http://www.teamsky.com/article/0,27290, ... 32,00.html

Suppose that quite a few guys were doing their first GT

Downing, Carlstrom, Nordhaug, Kennaugh, Appolonio?

Kennaugh and Appollonio are both only 21 (22 in June) and there cant have been many younger than them?

tim_wand

Ah come on Brailsford has got to be happy after all all he ever wants are "Marginal Gains"

and Wiggo put 41 seconds into 8 x national champion Hutchinson at the National 10 tt

gotta be worth every penny .

Think in the 2009 TDF he took advantage of a freak cross wind in the Carmargue along with LA and then showed some balls holding on for the GC.

Reading CW this week though I dont think anyone can fault Russell Downings commitment and training for the Giro.

Sky need some GC contendors, I love CAV but hes going to cost big and the money could be better spent, wonder how much the biological passport stance of the likes of Wiggo puts off others from joining Sky.

r0bh

Wiggins actually lost time to Armstrong on that stage.

tim wand wrote:

Think in the 2009 TDF he took advantage of a freak cross wind in the Carmargue along with LA and then showed some balls holding on for the GC.

pottssteve

Flecha did well early on with second place (by a whisker) in Omloop het Nieuwsblad. Sutton won Kuurne Brussels Kuurne the next day.

Steve

rebs

Noticed one think that Sky really don't seem to be interested in anyway of joining Breakaways. I am starting to think they really don't see the point. Several teams look to get in breakaways for TV exposure. This doesn't seem to be something Sky are interested in?

The same can be said for the Bleeding Carrots and Rabobank. 2 other teams which are nationalist as Sky are and have a longer term interest in their riders. Or am i just talking rubbish?