Sky TdF team...

[Apollonius]

I recall Wiggins saying that he didn't think he would be able to find it in himself to make the sacrifices necessary to compete in a grand tour again after his win. Just possibly he feels differently now - after all, he was keen to ride this Tour.
Just maybe this rejection by Sky will power him into a future Tour campaign. With an energetic young committed team behind him, who knows...

 

[beardy01]

I recall Wiggins saying that he didn't think he would be able to find it in himself to make the sacrifices necessary to compete in a grand tour again after his win. Just possibly he feels differently now - after all, he was keen to ride this Tour.
Just maybe this rejection by Sky will power him into a future Tour campaign. With an energetic young committed team behind him, who knows...

The voice of reason ,lets hope so theres just something i dont like about froome. Thinking about it and listening to posts think wiggo would maybe have tried to attack froome as obviously theres no love lost despite the party line from sky just to prove a point but it would have made great watching!!! All behind.............who????

 

[Apollonius]

I suspect I was thinking of Orica Greenedge, who do not, as yet, have an obvious GC candidate and have been linked, I hear.

I was asked about the Froome/Wiggins thing by Jackie Durand (how about that for name dropping!) and said that while admiring Froome, the love is for Wiggins as he is "One of Us".
Froome comes across as a rather privileged public school type (rightly or wrongly) whereas, like most of us, Wiggins has come from pretty humble origins. I think that is why he is so popular.
I have no wish to be down on Froome. I am just trying to expilain why Wiggins is special to us. For all his faults, he is a guy you ride with.

 

[MikeonaBike]

It's a real shame that Brad isn't going to be on the team, the more British riders to support the better. Also, why no Pete Kennaugh?

 

[beardy01]

I suspect I was thinking of Orica Greenedge, who do not, as yet, have an obvious GC candidate and have been linked, I hear.

I was asked about the Froome/Wiggins thing by Jackie Durand (how about that for name dropping!) and said that while admiring Froome, the love is for Wiggins as he is "One of Us".
Froome comes across as a rather privileged public school type (rightly or wrongly) whereas, like most of us, Wiggins has come from pretty humble origins. I think that is why he is so popular.
I have no wish to be down on Froome. I am just trying to expilain why Wiggins is special to us. For all his faults, he is a guy you ride with.

......and probably have a beer with, froome is probably a pimms man ( not that i am against pimms drinkers but theres a time and a place )☺☺

 

[Roscoe]

I would say this is a very strong team, strong focus on climbers in there. Lots of experience.

Love Wiggo to bits, but don't know how he would have fitted in here.

 

[RobNewcastle]

Whoever it was earlier who said it's going to come down to a straight shoot out between Froome Contador irrespective of teams was pretty much bang on. Sky have a very strong team who can set a tempo and protect him in the mountains and on the flat. When it comes down to the real showdown in the final kms of the high climbs most of the support riders will be gone and it'll be who can drop the other. In fact Contador probably knows the onus is on him to try and drop Froome to gain a cushion going into the final TT as Froome is the better in the discipline.

I still don't think enough was made of that crash in the Dauphine. Froome looked explosive and confident pre crash and completely different after, like night and day. I'm sure he will have recovered comfortably so and anyway the real climbing bar Les Planche des Belles Filles doesn't begin until almost 2 weeks into the tour. That's more than enough time to ride into top form if he's not already. Last week is monstrous.

 

[beardy01]

I would say this is a very strong team, strong focus on climbers in there. Lots of experience.

Love Wiggo to bits, but don't know how he would have fitted in here.

Just a thought doubt he would have really pushed froome in the hills , but the time trials he could have got the better of him ,just think he would have been a bit if a lone ranger and bit rock and roll and would have probably relished in causing a bit of disruption and upsetting the apple cart cos lets face it he doesnt like froome after 2012 where he destroyed him in the time trials but was lacking in explosiveness on the hills. But was froome the team player he bleats on about he wants to surround him on this years tdf. Am i verging on ranting now gonna have to leave this now as am starting to annoy myself as its not really about talent and skill why we are being deprived of wiggo racing and locking horns with pimms drinking froome

 

[tug benson]

Thinking about it i reckon Froome will take yellow in the ITT, the rest of the time he will cover Contador

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I was one of those loonies who believed in Sky and Brailsford when they started off, despite loathing Murdoch. I thought they could win the Tour in the timescales stated and when Wiggins won the Tour it was a huge achievement. Froome's victory last year was (for me) almost a "given" and less significant than Wiggin's win. I have become more and more frustrated, annoyed, disillusioned by Sky and their approach. I was at the Giro this year in Belfast and I think I might have walked past their bus/"pit" area during the build-up to the TTT but never bothered making an effort to go have a look; actually, I have just remembered, they were next to FDJ - I was watching the FDJ team warming up and there was a large crowd over at Sky, and just me and a couple of French blokes at FDJ and I had to push past some Sky fans to get some head-on pics of Bouhanni and co. warming up. So I suppose that means they are very popular as they attract the crowds. And they did seem to have a good relationship with the crowd and be obliging to requests.

Anyway, I think Sky have achieved a lot in a short space of time but maybe not as much as they could have; they have not developed riders as well as they could have, nor had as much of an impact in the Classics as I think they should have. And as for this year's Tour I reckon it might all go to ratshít for Froome and Sky. Whatever happens I think the Sky "experiment" (as that is what it was when it started off) will be short-lived and may not see out the decade.

 

[NorvernRob]

Just a thought doubt he would have really pushed froome in the hills , but the time trials he could have got the better of him ,just think he would have been a bit if a lone ranger and bit rock and roll and would have probably relished in causing a bit of disruption and upsetting the apple cart cos lets face it he doesnt like froome after 2012 where he destroyed him in the time trials but was lacking in explosiveness on the hills. But was froome the team player he bleats on about he wants to surround him on this years tdf. Am i verging on ranting now gonna have to leave this now as am starting to annoy myself as its not really about talent and skill why we are being deprived of wiggo racing and locking horns with pimms drinking froome

There's only one ITT, the penultimate stage, so no chance for Wiggins to take a lead in the race through one. He'd be miles back by then.

It's about winning the race pure and simple, and there's more chance of that without Wiggins there because quite simply he and Froome can't stand each other and that's never a good thing to have in a team.

Had Wiggins not gone on breakfast TV before the team had even been picked, and had he blasted the Tour De Swisse instead of moping at the back and losing minutes on every climb before crashing, he might have forced a place. But even then I doubt it.

 

[NorvernRob]

I was one of those loonies who believed in Sky and Brailsford when they started off, despite loathing Murdoch. I thought they could win the Tour in the timescales stated and when Wiggins won the Tour it was a huge achievement. Froome's victory last year was (for me) almost a "given" and less significant than Wiggin's win. I have become more and more frustrated, annoyed, disillusioned by Sky and their approach. I was at the Giro this year in Belfast and I think I might have walked past their bus/"pit" area during the build-up to the TTT but never bothered making an effort to go have a look; actually, I have just remembered, they were next to FDJ - I was watching the FDJ team warming up and there was a large crowd over at Sky, and just me and a couple of French blokes at FDJ and I had to push past some Sky fans to get some head-on pics of Bouhanni and co. warming up. So I suppose that means they are very popular as they attract the crowds. And they did seem to have a good relationship with the crowd and be obliging to requests.

Anyway, I think Sky have achieved a lot in a short space of time but maybe not as much as they could have; they have not developed riders as well as they could have, nor had as much of an impact in the Classics as I think they should have. And as for this year's Tour I reckon it might all go to ratshít for Froome and Sky. Whatever happens I think the Sky "experiment" (as that is what it was when it started off) will be short-lived and may not see out the decade.

You think 2013 was an easier win than 2012? Do you think Wiggins would have beaten Quintana last year had he been team leader?

 

[albion]

Wiggins won because of Froome whilst Froome won with a team.
Wiggos manoeuvrings to stay leader, his non appearance last year etc etc means he is simply not used to a support role.

Yet, this year looks tougher for Froome. No one is quite sure if he has it in him still.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

You think 2013 was an easier win than 2012? Do you think Wiggins would have beaten Quintana last year had he been team leader?

I think 2012 was more significant (as I posted above) than the 2013 win. I tend not to try to get into debates about "better" nor hypothetical scenarios. I do think that Froome is a great rider, I remember him when he rode for Barlowold when Soler won the KOM and he had some strong performances then when he was "Kenyan". If you look at the history of the Tour (and the Giro and Vuelta) and the role of team leaders and domestiques you'll find many examples of riders who "could" have won, and many domestiques who went on to win after poor performances by the team leader or by "skulduggery". It is not unique to Sky.

 

[zizou]

I'm a fan of Wiggins but with the parcours and his (+competitors) form he wouldnt be a viable plan B for winning the Tour. If he could be relied on he'd make for a great super-domestique (his turn for Cavendish at the world championships shows how much of a team player he can be). However despite that he does have a reputation for being an unreliable team mate - happened not just in the last year with Sky but with Garmin too so i can understand why they dont want to take the risk of him going then having a sulk. That would be a bigger disruptive influence than 2 riders competiting for the team leadership.