No WIggins at World TT Champs

2

Comments

  • Jez mon
    Jez mon Posts: 3,809
    I got bored earlier and compared the average speed of Wiggins's Olympic TT win, with those from the Worlds TTs that Martin and Cancellara won.

    Wiggins's Olympic TT win was faster than all the Worlds. I think a fit Cancellara and Martin would have got a lot closer, but ultimately Wiggins still would stand a good chance of winning.

    Oh, and I realise comparing avg speeds is a bit rubbish.
    You live and learn. At any rate, you live
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    I may have had my tongue in my cheek.

    Canc has said in the past he has lost interest in TTing. I just wonder whether he might have stepped it up again for the Olympics. I didn't see much since I was by the side of the road but he looked in great shape for the RR.
    _
  • mfin
    mfin Posts: 6,729
    derbygrimpeur wrote:
    He's been saintly with his training all season and ignored his family. He's just accomplished two massive achievements, and seems to want to kick back a bit. Sounds fair enough to me. To hold form from January to July must take a lot of effort (physically and mentally), but to continue to September? Na, let him have a holiday.

    Exactly. I don't believe for one second it would be to do with the competition's form, to think so would be a daft assumption made from not thinking really.
  • knedlicky
    knedlicky Posts: 3,097
    Gazzaputt wrote:
    Martin was fitter than he was letting on.
    You’ve obviously never had a bike injury.
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Canc has said in the past he has lost interest in TTing. I just wonder whether he might have stepped it up again for the Olympics. I didn't see much since I was by the side of the road but he looked in great shape for the RR.
    For the last 3-4 years Cancellara has been saying his Olympics aim was the RR, not the TT. Unfortunately for their respective ambitions, both Martin (who would rather be an all-rounder) and Cancellara (classics?) have been type-cast.

    I don’t really care if Wiggins is at the World Championships or not but the arguments about saintly Wiggins having neglected his family up to now and so warranting time off (derbygrimpeur and daz555) hold no water for me; other riders manage the balance throughout the whole season and whether they win or not, the time and training involved is still the same.
    Surely a reason why Wiggins isn’t going is in case he is defeated; that would be a downer to end his season. I’d understand that.
  • Daz555
    Daz555 Posts: 3,976
    knedlicky wrote:
    Surely a reason why Wiggins isn’t going is in case he is defeated; that would be a downer to end his season. I’d understand that.
    We are all just making assumptions I suppose but he has said publicly that he is enjoying his time off right now. If he is taking proper time off (beer and fags!) then he is not going to be in shape for the WC TT anyway so there is no point in going.
    You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
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  • milton50
    milton50 Posts: 3,856
    "For me (it is) not big at all, I am the Olympic champion. That is the one everyone wants to win,"

    Strange comment to make. Maybe the Olympic TT was genuinely a bigger deal for him this year but I think he might regret not having a go at the worlds when he is in this kind of form.

    I agree that he probably just can't be bothered to get himself up for another big event this year which, if he lost, would just take the shine off his year.

    A 100% fit Martin and Cancellara would have made the Olympic TT closer but are really saying that a sore wrist accounts for a 1 minute defeat?
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    knedlicky wrote:
    Gazzaputt wrote:
    Martin was fitter than he was letting on.
    You’ve obviously never had a bike injury.

    Plenty mate plenty and have some chick digging scars to show.

    Martin was in better shape than he showed in the RR.
  • zammmmo
    zammmmo Posts: 315
    would have had to ride the Vuelta as prep - and given what he's done so far this year don't think he can be bothered. Understandable.
  • derbygrimpeur
    derbygrimpeur Posts: 822
    knedlicky wrote:
    other riders manage the balance throughout the whole season and whether they win or not, the time and training involved is still the same.
    Surely a reason why Wiggins isn’t going is in case he is defeated; that would be a downer to end his season. I’d understand that.

    Please name the other riders that have won Paris-Nice, Tour de Romandie, Criterium Dauphine, Tour de France and Olympic TT in the same year...

    The time to train may be similar, although most riders stay with family rather than lots of training camps, but the motivation to carry on racing is different if you've won nothing in the season.
  • knedlicky
    knedlicky Posts: 3,097
    derbygrimpeur wrote:
    The time to train may be similar, although most riders stay with family rather than lots of training camps
    How true is this? Maybe for Italians or French or whoever who only ride races in Italy or France or wherever. Or for riders located fairly central for a variety of races, like those living in Belgium.
    But I seem to remember Zabel once saying he only spent 60 nights a year at home. In summer he was doing the one-dayers and the tours and then in winter the 6-days, as well as training camps in between. (Wiggins doesn’t really do the one-dayers, nor for several years has he done the 6-days)
  • dave_1
    dave_1 Posts: 9,512
    RichN95 wrote:
    Here's a quiz question for you. When was the last time that the Tour de France winner competed at the World Championships?

    1994? The worlds died a terrible death from mid 1990s. They should restore the Vuelta to April/May and move the worlds back to August.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKBacb2V ... ata_player
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Dave_1 wrote:
    RichN95 wrote:
    Here's a quiz question for you. When was the last time that the Tour de France winner competed at the World Championships?

    1994? The worlds died a terrible death from mid 1990s. They should restore the Vuelta to April/May and move the worlds back to August.

    Riis '96. :P take a closer look at the answers :P
    _
  • thomthom
    thomthom Posts: 3,574
    Gazzaputt wrote:
    knedlicky wrote:
    Gazzaputt wrote:
    Martin was fitter than he was letting on.
    You’ve obviously never had a bike injury.

    Plenty mate plenty and have some chick digging scars to show.

    Martin was in better shape than he showed in the RR.

    Like the rest of us you know f'cuk all about the riders form. None of has any chance of knowing it.
    And your epic comment about Cancellara being over it as a dominant tt-rider tells me how much I really should put into the lines you are writing. Absolute nonsense the lot of it.
  • thomthom
    thomthom Posts: 3,574
    Milton50 wrote:
    "For me (it is) not big at all, I am the Olympic champion. That is the one everyone wants to win,"

    Strange comment to make. Maybe the Olympic TT was genuinely a bigger deal for him this year but I think he might regret not having a go at the worlds when he is in this kind of form.


    Definitely. Since when is the Olympics the one everyone wants to win - especially over WC..?
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    ThomThom wrote:
    Definitely. Since when is the Olympics the one everyone wants to win - especially over WC..?

    Since 1996.

    In Olympic years the big TT names have gone for that over the WC.

    The Olympics TT has been won by Indurain, Ekimov, Cancellara and Wiggins.

    The Worlds TT (in Olympic years) has been won by Zulle, Honchar, Rogers and Grabsch.

    If you were picking a 100km TTT team - which quartet would you choose?
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • thomthom
    thomthom Posts: 3,574
    Personally I still see it as a greater achievment to win the worlds, based on the Olympic RR not being bigger than the Worlds RR as well. I haven't taken a look at the startlists, stage profiles and such and I don't intend so either from the worlds those years but I'm sure there have been big names, outside the winners, in the worlds as well. I mean, was Indurain, Ekimov and Fabi participating in the worlds afterwards? It doesn't necessarily show the whole picture. Being in form for Olympics after a Tour De France is easier than to keep it for the Worlds as well. Wiggins is an example here. I'd want them rainbow colors over many things, that's for sure.


    It's not that simple just to mention the winners.
  • oneof1982
    oneof1982 Posts: 703
    Now that the Olympics is established as a professional race the market will decide which is more important. It doesn't take a genius to work out that as a British rider the Olympic gold is worth a bucketload more than the Worlds to Wiggo. "Pro Race" means exactly that.
  • thomthom
    thomthom Posts: 3,574
    oneof1982 wrote:
    Now that the Olympics is established as a professional race the market will decide which is more important. It doesn't take a genius to work out that as a British rider the Olympic gold is worth a bucketload more than the Worlds to Wiggo. "Pro Race" means exactly that.

    Hence why it's the "the one everyone wants to win" I'm a bit uneasy with.

    Obviously, Wiggins wanted this over anything post Tour De France.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    ThomThom wrote:
    Personally I still see it as a greater achievment to win the worlds, based on the Olympic RR not being bigger than the Worlds RR as well. I haven't taken a look at the startlists, stage profiles and such and I don't intend so either from the worlds those years but I'm sure there have been big names, outside the winners, in the worlds as well. I mean, was Indurain, Ekimov and Fabi participating in the worlds afterwards? It doesn't necessarily show the whole picture. Being in form for Olympics after a Tour De France is easier than to keep it for the Worlds as well. Wiggins is an example here. I'd want them rainbow colors over many things, that's for sure.

    It's not that simple just to mention the winners.

    Indurain and Cancellara didn't do the Worlds in the years they won, Ekimov, I don't know. It's worth noting that Armstrong went all the way to Sydney for the Olympics but didn't bother with the Worlds after 98.

    The Worlds TT has only been around a couple of years longer than the Olympics has been pro, so there's no real history there. The RR is a little different with a longer tradition, but a riders preference there is largely dictated by the suitablity of parcours.

    Some cycling fans like to dismiss the Olympics as a mere trifle, mostly due to the general public paying attention to it and many fans' need to feel superior to them, but it is very important to cyclists exactly because non-cycling fans are watching. An Olympic Gold Medal is a prize everyone can understand and appreciate.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Turfle
    Turfle Posts: 3,762
    I would bet the Olympics is the one that each of the big 3 TTers would most like to have won this year.
  • thomthom
    thomthom Posts: 3,574
    I didn't expect to convince Brits about it anyway, though..
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    RichN95 wrote:
    ThomThom wrote:
    Definitely. Since when is the Olympics the one everyone wants to win - especially over WC..?

    Since 1996.

    In Olympic years the big TT names have gone for that over the WC.

    The Olympics TT has been won by Indurain, Ekimov, Cancellara and Wiggins.

    The Worlds TT (in Olympic years) has been won by Zulle, Honchar, Rogers and Grabsch.

    If you were picking a 100km TTT team - which quartet would you choose?

    That's probably down to the fact that the timing of the Olympics means that more big names are likely to be in form at that time of the year. Personally I don't think there is much difference in prestige.

    As for the 100KM TTT - the snag there is finding a fourth rider who could keep up with Wiggins, Martin and Cancellara for at least part of the distance.
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,249
    ThomThom wrote:
    I didn't expect to convince Brits about it anyway, though..
    Well, according to Fabian Cancellara, his main aim for the year was the Olympics...

    http://www.fabiancancellara.org/cancell ... ic-double/

    Tony Martin too...

    http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/olympic ... in-in-2012

    So it looks like Wiggins might have been right when he said that it was the one everyone wanted.
  • knedlicky
    knedlicky Posts: 3,097
    DeadCalm wrote:
    ThomThom wrote:
    I didn't expect to convince Brits about it anyway, though..
    Well, according to Fabian Cancellara, his main aim for the year was the Olympics...
    http://www.fabiancancellara.org/cancell ... ic-double/
    Tony Martin too...
    http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/olympic ... in-in-2012
    So it looks like Wiggins might have been right when he said that it was the one everyone wanted.
    But Cancellara's Olympic goal was the RR not the TT.
    It sort of says this in your link, and Cancellara actually voiced this goal in an interview he gave as long ago as 2009, as well as in interviews since, including in Spring 2012.
    Yes, he was entered for the TT, but it wasn't his Olympic goal, so one can't really use him in any argument about whether the Olympic TT title is what he (as a big TT-er) would have liked to win most, because it just wasn't.
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,249
    knedlicky wrote:
    DeadCalm wrote:
    ThomThom wrote:
    I didn't expect to convince Brits about it anyway, though..
    Well, according to Fabian Cancellara, his main aim for the year was the Olympics...
    http://www.fabiancancellara.org/cancell ... ic-double/
    Tony Martin too...
    http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/olympic ... in-in-2012
    So it looks like Wiggins might have been right when he said that it was the one everyone wanted.
    But Cancellara's Olympic goal was the RR not the TT.
    It sort of says this in your link, and Cancellara actually voiced this goal in an interview he gave as long ago as 2009, as well as in interviews since, including in Spring 2012.
    Yes, he was entered for the TT, but it wasn't his Olympic goal, so one can't really use him in any argument about whether the Olympic TT title is what he (as a big TT-er) would have liked to win most, because it just wasn't.

    He actually wanted to do the double. Note though that he was targeting the double at the Olympics not at the Worlds. His season was always focused on the Olympics and not the Worlds.
  • KentPuncheur
    KentPuncheur Posts: 246
    Milton50 wrote:
    "For me (it is) not big at all, I am the Olympic champion. That is the one everyone wants to win,"

    Strange comment to make. Maybe the Olympic TT was genuinely a bigger deal for him this year but I think he might regret not having a go at the worlds when he is in this kind of form.

    He has said many times that this years Olympics (being in London/UK) is once in a lifetime and that the prospect of winning on home turf was a great motivation. The Olympics this year was most certainly a bigger deal for him than the Worlds.
    2011 Trek Madone 3.1c
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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    the Inner Ring ‏@inrng
    No worlds for Cancellara, problems with collarbone. Report says he's likely to stay with Radioshack-Nissan http://www.lessentiel.lu/de/sport/dossi ... t-24828945 (in German)
    _
  • KentPuncheur
    KentPuncheur Posts: 246
    ThomThom wrote:
    I'd want them rainbow colors over many things, that's for sure.

    Even over the opportunity to win the Olympic title on home soil, which is a once in a lifetime opportunity when the Worlds occur year in year out?

    Wiggins has made it clear that he wants to create a cycling legacy, and winning this year's Olympic title has increased the profile of the sport in the UK to no end. Winning the Worlds overseas over London 2012 would not have had this effect or be celebrated within the UK quite so much I suspect...
    2011 Trek Madone 3.1c
    2012 Ribble 7005 Winter Trainer

    Dolor transit, gloria aeterna est.
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    Unbelievable year of bad luck for Cancellara. Almost as bad for Samu with yet another crash this morning, suspected broken collarbone.
  • thomthom
    thomthom Posts: 3,574
    KentPuncheur wrote:
    ThomThom wrote:
    I'd want them rainbow colors over many things, that's for sure.

    Even over the opportunity to win the Olympic title on home soil, which is a once in a lifetime opportunity when the Worlds occur year in year out?

    Wiggins has made it clear that he wants to create a cycling legacy, and winning this year's Olympic title has increased the profile of the sport in the UK to no end. Winning the Worlds overseas over London 2012 would not have had this effect or be celebrated within the UK quite so much I suspect...

    To repeat myself for the third time. Something about "the one everyone wants" qoute. - That's what Wiggins said. Everybody would be the key word here.

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