Flop of the Year 2013
Comments
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Genuinely having Wiggins in anyones list sort of ignores his previous history. He did start riding before 2012 you know :roll:
[Troll on] Unlike Berties drop off, [Troll off] Wiggins has probably had a better 2013 than we should have expected considering his performance after reaching his previous major goals (I am particularly thinking Olympic cycles here)
Achieved first 'big time' major goal and childhood dream - next year in pub more than Jonny Vegas
Achieved second 'big time' major goal - next year in pub less than Jonny Vegas but only really rode well in TDF against expectations (and even then it was only because Steve Peters bet his inner chimp that it couldn't keep him out of the pub NB this is obviously made up but probably a fairly good analogy)
Achieved third 'big time' major goal and childhood dream - next year a mediocre year compared to 2012 but arguably not bad in context of road career.
It looks IMHO like Wiggins is very much a person who is motivated by emotion in much the same way as a manic depressive has mood swings. Progressively builds up to a crescendo, then a big drop off. It just seems to be thats how he is and it could be argued he is actually controlling it much better later in his career. Its just not what most 'fans' want.
As for the original question Andy Schleck. Assuming his previous palmares were based on ability he needs to decide if he wants to ride a bike or not.Coach H. (Dont ask me for training advice - 'It's not about the bike')0 -
RichN95 wrote:
I think he should forget about sprinting unless all the top sprinters are elsewhere and look at being the sort of racer Cancellara has been for most of his career (but probably not as good). Contender in the spring, domestique in the summer, then do a couple of weeks of the Vuelta and have a crack at the Worlds. Do time trials hard.ddraver wrote:I think EBH falls into the middle really. His trouble is that he's very good at everything but not exceptional at anything. he can come 3rd or 4th in almost every race of the season, but he will always be beaten by someone who has the specific skillset/physiology for that day.
I think the trouble with Sky is that riders like Tomas and EBH who have potential in say 1 dayers are just becoming super-domestiques and when they are let off the lead for a go themselves they are too knackered from stage race duties0 -
But neither of them are doing that much super-doming. This season neither of the rode with Froome until the Dauphine. Most of their stage racing before that had been for themselves (Thomas - 3rd Down Under, 10th Qatar, 2nd Bayer Rund; Boasson Hagen - 8th Qatar, 1st Norway). Then they were both injured in the Tour.Yellow Peril wrote:I think the trouble with Sky is that riders like Tomas and EBH who have potential in say 1 dayers are just becoming super-domestiques and when they are let off the lead for a go themselves they are too knackered from stage race dutiesTwitter: @RichN950 -
Richmond Racer wrote:mike6 wrote:Contador. Highest paid rider in the Pro Tour, I believe, and a GT specialist. Fourth in the Tour, and he was hanging on, is a major failure if it was the highlight of his season.
Wiggins. After 2012 there were huge expectations, his and ours, and pretty much failed to produce. TOB was nice and the WTT silver a consolation, but no where near enough for a rider of his undoubted talent.
This from a big supporter of Brad, but he had a very poor season, no excuses.
God knows what you're going to make of next season, then, Mike...
Unless you have a crystal ball Rich, we will both have to wait and see.
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ddraver wrote:If I'm completely honest the only reason people are suggesting Wiggins was a flop was
A - They believed the hype
B - They re desperately trying to show frenchie they re not Sky Fanboi/Fangirls
Got to stop posting A and B ingly
In reality there are going to be a couple of hundred riders that actually fit in between the best and worst rider threads, but this is a cycling forum and cycling fans do not deal in shades of grey - If E.L James had been a cycling fan the book would have been very short indeed...
What hype would that be then? Are you denying Wiggins won the Yellow jersey in 2012, and also had a stellar season in lots of other races? So why was it hype to expect him to ride well in 2013? :roll:0 -
He wasnt riding just going to ride well though was he mike, he was expected to be an all conquering hero that would have made Eddie Merckx look like a bit of a loser frankly...
Anyone that genuinely thought he had as much chance in the Giro as the odds suggested frankly deserved to have their money taken off them. Add in a crash and an illness, which ok are random but hardly unheard of and it's no surprise he dropped out of the Giro, he was hardly the only one...We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
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ddraver wrote:If I'm completely honest the only reason people are suggesting Wiggins was a flop was
A - They believed the hype
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I don't agree.
Wiggins was the very definition of a flop to due the hype that came out of his own mouth - all that talk about doing the Giro/ Tour double and then performing like a old women with a straw ar$e in the Giro.
The comment about believing the hype is an interesting one. There was some discussion regarding Wiggin's form early season and his preparation. This discussion was trampled on by the forum mafia.“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Has anybody in this thread actually competed in a Race? At any sport or level?
Come on then lets hear your results?0 -
Before every GT there's at least 6 or 7 riders and teams that spout that they can win it. No team with a major GC name says they're only there to make up the numbers. Its just the talk beforehand.
It'll rev up for Dan Martin and Nico Roche too for the Giro next year. And if neither of them are in the maglia rosa before the race leaves Ireland, there''ll be a lot of disappointed fans*
*slightly tongue in cheek0 -
Can anyone put their hand on heart and say, before the Giro started, they expected any other scenario than Wiggins having a decent lead on the GC after the long TT?“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0
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TailWindHome wrote:Can anyone put their hand on heart and say, before the Giro started, they expected any other scenario than Wiggins having a decent lead on the GC after the long TT?
I expected him to lose time in the first week and take some back in the TT. But I was never convinced about his form before the race.Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
iainf72 wrote:TailWindHome wrote:Can anyone put their hand on heart and say, before the Giro started, they expected any other scenario than Wiggins having a decent lead on the GC after the long TT?
I expected him to lose time in the first week and take some back in the TT. But I was never convinced about his form before the race.
Where did you expect that to happen?“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Richmond Racer wrote:It'll rev up for Dan Martin and Nico Roche too for the Giro next year. And if neither of them are in the maglia rosa before the race leaves Ireland, there''ll be a lot of disappointed fans*
*slightly tongue in cheek
I'd expect Cavendish to leave Ireland in Pink.
At the very least to leave Northern Ireland in Pink.
The Irish tend not to be so 'down' on their sporting heroes as you British.“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
TailWindHome wrote:I expected him to lose time in the first week and take some back in the TT. But I was never convinced about his form before the race.
Where did you expect that to happen?[/quote]
Any of the early stages. That nervousness in the Giro, people ending up on their backsides etc. Remember in 2010 when at least one of the faves lost time day after day in the early stages.Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
TailWindHome wrote:Can anyone put their hand on heart and say, before the Giro started, they expected any other scenario than Wiggins having a decent lead on the GC after the long TT?
Nope. Would be interesting to go back and check numbers to see if the consensus of Wiggo riding close to potential with Nibali riding a stormer was deluded. A 2012 Wiggo should have been a favourite. Tougher parcours, but lesser competition (no Froome :P ) & it's a pity Nibali was robbed of the chance to show just how much he'd improved.
He handled the pressure of being the first Brit to win the Tour with some ease so I was pretty shocked that the wheels came off....a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0 -
FocusZing wrote:Has anybody in this thread actually competed in a Race? At any sport or level?
Come on then lets hear your results?
Yes. best result 8th in a chipper, longest of long markers. Usually last but I never pack. Being sh1t I know sh1t when I see it0 -
Gilbert
Hesjedal's sunglasses
And, although I hate to jump on the bandwagon. I don't think Wiggins had an awful season but after winning the tour he has gone on to abandon the Giro which he targeted to win and then not start the Tour (I'm not convinced it was an injury, after his reluctance to help Froome at the worlds I think it was an integration problem) To become a national hero and then apparently lose all motivation and not want to pay back his team mate was a poor show. I am a Wiggins fan but acting like a spoilt child didn't do him any favours! He's still a great rider but his attitude lets him down.0 -
The thing with Wiggins is he didn't really do many of the races that suit him - stage races with an individual time trial. He came 5th in both Catalonia and Trentino, neither of which had an ITT - put one in and who knows. A mechanical stopped him winning the Giro ITT, but the rest was a disaster (happens to many), then he had a great Poland TT, the Tour of Britain and Worlds. It wasn't a good year, but only the Giro GC was a proper failure (even if it was his main target)Twitter: @RichN950
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Gerraint Thomas? Either that or he doesn't keep his website up to date. Not a lot happened in 2013....
http://www.geraintthomas.com/results/Specialized Venge S Works
Cannondale Synapse
Enigma Etape
Genesis Flyer Single Speed
Turn the corner, rub my eyes and hope the world will last...0 -
Carl_P wrote:Gerraint Thomas? Either that or he doesn't keep his website up to date. Not a lot happened in 2013....
http://www.geraintthomas.com/results/
He's due to finish the Tour tomorrow as it happens0 -
RichN95 wrote:
But neither of them are doing that much super-doming. This season neither of the rode with Froome until the Dauphine. Most of their stage racing before that had been for themselves (Thomas - 3rd Down Under, 10th Qatar, 2nd Bayer Rund; Boasson Hagen - 8th Qatar, 1st Norway). Then they were both injured in the Tour.Yellow Peril wrote:I think the trouble with Sky is that riders like Tomas and EBH who have potential in say 1 dayers are just becoming super-domestiques and when they are let off the lead for a go themselves they are too knackered from stage race duties
You are right Rich, in fact IIRC Thomas spent most of the classics on the floor.0 -
He certainly was the majority PTP choice for the GCTailWindHome wrote:Can anyone put their hand on heart and say, before the Giro started, they expected any other scenario than Wiggins having a decent lead on the GC after the long TT?0 -
FocusZing wrote:Has anybody in this thread actually competed in a Race? At any sport or level?
Come on then lets hear your results?
Yes, loads. In cycling I've had everything from top 15 placings to being dropped on the first lap of a crit. Not sure of the relevance though, the definition of a flop is someone expected to do well underachieving - in my races I've basically achieved what me and people who know me expected. I don't think anyone has said these riders are rubbish, just that they failed to live up to the expectations this season that their past form suggested they would.0 -
FJS wrote:
He certainly was the majority PTP choice for the GCTailWindHome wrote:Can anyone put their hand on heart and say, before the Giro started, they expected any other scenario than Wiggins having a decent lead on the GC after the long TT?
Ah, the Giro PTP, an excellent way to determine decent pro tour pundits, and it reveals that TailWindHome (as well as FJS) is one of them - he didn't back Wiggins.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub ... utput=html0 -
I suppose its about expectation and reality.
Wiggins was pretty honking in the rain, going downhill at the Giro. But his win at the TofB was a highlight so I couldn't pick him.
Phil Gil has to be close based on his classics campaign.0 -
jimmythecuckoo wrote:I suppose its about expectation and reality.
Wiggins was pretty honking in the rain, going downhill at the Giro. But his win at the TofB was a highlight so I couldn't pick him.
Phil Gil has to be close based on his classics campaign.
Phil Gil rode the classics this year!?
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