Team Sky tactics in ToB

[Paul_L]

Haven't seen the highlights of today's stage yet, but i do know that Sky have lost the overall GC lead.

I know they won yesterday's stage, but i can't be alone in thinking they made a right hash of the lead out for Henderson? GT and brad clearly put big shifts in at the front, but then they both lost a minute which can't have been in the original plan. When Brad pulled off the front they almost came to a standstill which was comical.

And now it seems they couldn't defend the leaders jersey today.

Should they have not have riden so hard yesterday that they could have offered Henderson up for the sprint but ensured GT and brad both finished in the lead group. That way, they would have had 3 riders at the top end of the GC which even they could have defended?

 

[amaferanga]

Its disappointing that on their home tour they pick a non British rider to go for the overall. Geraint Thomas and Russ Downing should both be good bets for GC, but they choose a sprinter instead. Very odd.

 

[jdrussell]

I'm over the Team Sky hype

 

[Crackle]

Well a sprinter won it last year, Boassen Hagen but once again they looked naive losing minutes before two hard days for two potential GC'ers and Henderson couldn't cut it, so, plan B is.......

 

[rich p]

The attention to detail mantra is coming back to bite them if you can't get the tactics right on the road. Things like pulling on the front up the first mountain in the TdF which blew Wiggins away, taking your own chef and getting food poisoning in the Vuelta amongst other cock ups and now this schoolboy tactical error in the ToB indicates they've got a lot to learn.
Making bold statements of intent are fine but keeping a lower profile and letting results do your talking is a better approach in my mind.

 

[Keith Oates]

The year has not been good for them, I think the Wiggins has not made the impact that they had hoped for when the team was formed.!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Team Fiwip]

''So now the Emperor walked under his high canopy in the midst of the procession, through the streets of his capital; and all the people standing by, and those at the windows, cried out, "Oh! How beautiful are our Emperor's new clothes! What a magnificent train there is to the mantle; and how gracefully the scarf hangs!" in short, no one would allow that he could not see these much-admired clothes; because, in doing so, he would have declared himself either a simpleton or unfit for his office. Certainly, none of the Emperor's various suits, had ever made so great an impression, as these invisible ones.

"But the Emperor has nothing at all on!" said a little child.

"Listen to the voice of innocence!" exclaimed his father; and what the child had said was whispered from one to another''.

"But he has nothing at all on!" at last cried out all the people. The Emperor was vexed, for he knew that the people were right; but he thought the procession must go on now! And the lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever, to appear holding up a train, although, in reality, there was no train to hold.

 

[rich p]

'kin ada. Fiwip, here's a sledgehammer for you to borrow, in case nobody got your point!
That font is shite, too

 

[oldroadman]

'kin ada. Fiwip, here's a sledgehammer for you to borrow, in case nobody got your point!
That font is shite, too

Sky tactics, according to one DS on the ToB "They are like a Benny Hill sketch, all running about to no result".
About right, and too many excuses on the TV as well "Didn't get any info on Black Mountain". Odd that others did, including anyone listening to radio tour (and it was a madhouse up there, well done for what info came out, things changing so fast), with that big budget can't they afford decent scanners?

 

[Flying_Monkey]

They made the fundamentally bad decision of trying to push Greg Henderson as a GC contender. He just isn't. Thomas, Wiggins or even Downing would have been better choices.

 

[Keith Oates]

I agree with you regarding Thomas or Downing, FM. However for some reason Wiggins is not going so well this season so not pushing him for GC was probably correct!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[montage]

If I were team sky, I'd certainly be investing more time into geriant thomas after his performance in the TdF this year. Who knows what will happen next year, fingers crossed they learn from their mistakes, they've made enough of them

 

[Flying_Monkey]

I think that's spot on. It is next season that we'll see how much they have learned from a first top-level experience. They may indeed turn out to be full of it, or they might learn and change - we'll see.

 

[lukesdad]

The reason for their poor show this year IMO is they have no experienced "road captain"

 

[Keith Oates]

I think you have a point there, lukesdad, so who would be good rider to recruit to fill that role!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!