Olympics or 2012 Tour de France?

[rich p]

Given that Wiggo already has Olympic golds it would make sense to concentrate on a tour that it now appears he has a good chance of doing well at. He has said before that he wants to concentrate on the Olympics and wants to emulate Hoy's number of golds but maybe this year's Dauphine success will change his mind.

The shame of it all is that he could have given a good showing and got it out of his system this year and done the Olympics next if it wasn't for that damned fall.

The tougher bodily preparation he has to do for the TdF may also play a mental role. The training for the track in a 4 man pursuit is less draining for him especially as the world's best cyclists aren't competing in it.

 

[iLB]

I know Who won in 2008 but only because it was mentioned everytime he was out in front in this years tour!

Sastre didn't ride the tour this year !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Keith Oates TM)

 

[Chris.IOW]

Sastre didn't ride the tour this year !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Keith Oates TM)

Nor did he win the 2008 Olympic Road race, I was talking about Sammy Sanchez

 

[tigger]

^^ Ha ha

Nothing competes with the Tour for me. I can see this being a tough decision for Wiggo, he started on the track and this is his speciality in his home. There will be a lot of pressure from committee, Brailsford and ( I think I read Sky too) to perform at the Olympics but I agree with Boardman. Go for the tour, take a few days off and do the team pursuit only I say.

 

[dellzeqq]

The Tour is far more important than the Olympics. Win it and you are one of the immortals, your Olympic gold is just one of many among the synchronised swimmers, Subbutteo players, Freestyle Fish Slappers and Egg and Spoon racers.

like Oscar wotsisname? And that's if you win it. No British rider is going to come close. Not Wiggins, not anybody.

 

[dellzeqq]

The Tour is more important than any other cycling races in the world. Any rider will tell you that it is their ambition to either win a stage or wear le maillot jaune. The Tour makes you famous for ever and is the best credential you can have on your cv.

Chris Hoy wouldn't last the distance in the Tour and that's probably why he will never enter it. He wouldn't be able to compete with the best.

Even Chris Boardman made his name ( and his money)in the Tour although he never did much in it. He only wore the maillot jaune in the prologue but didn't keep it for long.

Why do you thing cheat Armstrong only concentrated on le Tour?

And as far as the British media is concerned ( especially the BBC), if it is not Cricket (boring), Golf ( boring) , F1 , Tennis , Football or Rugby ( I like) no other sports matters.

For me, give le Tour anytime and you can keep the Olympics.

you're missing the point. Hoy has a knighthood. And the kind of marketability that Cavendish can only dream of. Look at the audience figures for the Tour in the UK - as in not very many. Now wait for the audience figures for the Olympics....

 

[Smokin Joe]

you're missing the point. Hoy has a knighthood. And the kind of marketability that Cavendish can only dream of. Look at the audience figures for the Tour in the UK - as in not very many. Now wait for the audience figures for the Olympics....

Fine if you think marketability and audience figures are what matter, Eddie the Eagle scored highly on both those counts. But in cycling terms the Olympics come a long way behind the Grand Tours and the classics. Mark Cavendish's green jersey was a far more important milestone in British cycling history than Hoy's gold in the Olympic sprint.

 

[dellzeqq]

Fine if you think marketability and audience figures are what matter, Eddie the Eagle scored highly on both those counts. But in cycling terms the Olympics come a long way behind the Grand Tours and the classics. Mark Cavendish's green jersey was a far more important milestone in British cycling history than Hoy's gold in the Olympic sprint.

If I was a pro cyclist, putting myself through all kinds of pain, with a career of possibly ten years, then marketability and audience figures would be top of the list. If Hoy were never to turn a pedal again, he could still be selling Shredded Wheat for another ten years. As in Ian Botham.

 

[ohnovino]

Looks like Bradley Wiggins is clear on what he's most interested in.

He's just tweeted: "1 year to go to London 2012, but more importantly 11 months to go to the 2012 TDF!"

 

[monnet]

There's a piece in the Times today where he states his target is the Olympics and then if all's going well he'll aim for the Olympic TT and then the pursuit. He reckons if he comes out of the Tour in good shape he should be ok for the Olympics but at his current career point he feels he should be concentrating on the Tour.

As for Cav's marketability - neither he nor Chris Hoy are going to have the Botham appeal 20 or 30 years after retirement. Secondly, while Hoy may have a great Shredded Wheat deal (along with others), he's not earning a great deal from British Cycling is he? Cav on the other hand is one of the few cyclists guaranteed a 7 figure salary when he goes into negotiations, plus win bonuses, plus assorted other deals (shoes, glasses etc.) And whilst he's not so well known here, he's got good earning power in Europe and I'd guess that will continue, to an extent, on his retirement. And being a Manxman, I'm sure it's all at low tax rates!

As for what you'd do if you were a pro cyclist, you'd do what Cav does. Or Simpson did. Or Kelly did. Or Anquetil did. Or what the array of domestiques and support riders have done and still do. You'd take all the money you can, where you can. You'll work your arse for someone because you'll share the win bonus or you've done a deal to work for them today so you can win tomorrow. You'll pay people to work for you in the World's because you know your team aren't good enough to support you and you'll make the money back in contracts for the next year. Marketability and audience figures are fine but as you point out, it's a hard way to earn a living so the money is what you're going to take first. And there's a limited supply of that for athletes at the Olympics.

 

[NickM]

Looks like Bradley Wiggins is clear on what he's most interested in.

He's just tweeted: "1 year to go to London 2012, but more importantly 11 months to go to the 2012 TDF!"

Excellent!

Did he add "And Brailsford can kiss my arse"?

 

[Smokin Joe]

If I was a pro cyclist, putting myself through all kinds of pain, with a career of possibly ten years, then marketability and audience figures would be top of the list. If Hoy were never to turn a pedal again, he could still be selling Shredded Wheat for another ten years. As in Ian Botham.

Cavendish is streets ahead of Hoy on both those counts. Hoy is only a (relatively) big name in Britain, Cav is a superstar all over Europe and like Kelly, Hinault, Merckx and many others he will be able to cash in on his career long after he retires.

 

[Willo]

To most cyclists and cycling fans the Tour is easily the bigger event. However, for more general UK interest it wil be the Olympics that gets the kudos. I think the interest in the Tour is growing each year in the UK but it is still obviosly way behind France, Belgium, Holland etc. I think we have to accept that in this country the Olympics will top everything next year for general interest in sport and for the wider interests tha will mean pressure for cyclists to prioritise it. However, whether the British cyclists decide to jump on that interest or stick to the purist (for want of a better term) cycling of the Tour will be interesting. I hope it's the latter as seeing British cyclists on the podium after 3 weeks of slog around France signifies more of an achievement to me than Olympic medals.

I read that G Thomas will be undergoing detailed tests 3 weeks or so after this year's Tour to see how he has recovered as an indicator of if his body can peak for both events next year. Also, Brailsford was saying that Cavendish always finishes the Tour so strongly that he'll be fine to do both next year. If Wiggins hadn't got injured this year and been successful, then maybe he'd revert to a focus on the Olympics. However, given he has a collection of Olympic medals already, as has been said already, I reckon he'll want a proper crack at next year's Tour de France while he's still at his peak and before age catches up with him.

 

[montage]

The thing is...this isn't any old olympics, it is the British olympics, that's something special for british athletes surely

 

[perplexed]

The Tour is the important one.

It's where the legends live...



Apart from anything else, think what a huge British road win might do for ordinary everyday cyclists. It may begin, even subconciously, begin to shift some of the opinions of the general populace.

Chris Hoy seems to be popular, and feted as a track cyclist. Nothing wrong with that at all, its all good. But a massive win on the road, and it might filter through and we have a popular figure who rides on the roads, showing that we belong there. The track is a bit abstract.

I'm being a bit cack handed, but you know what I mean.