The pro peleton needs Wiggins.

[HF2300]

Brailsford's quoted in the Guardian yesterday as saying they'll support Wiggins' attempt on the classics, and also would be interested in the one hour record, provided the deal works for both sides. He also says '...it's up to us to support him and give him what he needs...'

 

[elgee]

Just listening to lemond on eurosport, speaking to vinokourov about signing new riders.

"I want to see froome, nibali, contador, wiggins at the tour de france"...

This is why I said the peleton needs him, not in the sense of there not being talent in it already, but in the sense of ramping up the competition and bringing more fans to the sport (that's the 'character' bit, like Rossi has done in Moto GP). Look what's happened in Formula 1 this season - cars actually overtaking each other and enough top drivers to ensure close racing (not withstanding Mercedes dominance) - you can't have enough competition in the peleton, surely? That still leaves plenty of room for the young pretenders, who can watch and learn from the older pros, as they learn their trade and eventually take their places.

 

[John the Monkey]

This is why I said the peleton needs him, not in the sense of there not being talent in it already, but in the sense of ramping up the competition and bringing more fans to the sport (that's the 'character' bit, like Rossi has done in Moto GP).

I don't know this Rossi fellow, but I found Wiggins' mod stylings, surly outbursts &c a bit tedious, tbh. Shouldn't it be about the racing?

Admittedly, it's about Cricket, but I think this Ed Smith piece is interesting on the thin line "difficult" characters walk within teams;

When mavericks slide from outright brilliance to mere high competence they find patience runs out alarmingly quickly. There is a lot of high competence around. It is replaceable. Not so genuine brilliance.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/745367.html

 

[elgee]

I don't know this Rossi fellow, but I found Wiggins' mod stylings, surly outbursts &c a bit tedious, tbh. Shouldn't it be about the racing?

Admittedly, it's about Cricket, but I think this Ed Smith piece is interesting on the thin line "difficult" characters walk within teams;



http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/745367.html

I agree, it should be about racing but realistically, it also has to be about broadening the fan base to a wider mass market with attendant media coverage and better sponsorship deals. It's either that, and accept all the negatives that go with the intense pressures put on professional athletes, or go back to the grudging tolerance of other road users who remain ignorant of the sport and resent the inconvenience caused by club toad races. It's about time UK cycle sport had the prestige it enjoys on the continent. Unfortunately, that brings the down sides as well, including over-bloated egos and demands for ever higher rewards etc. As I see it, popularising the sport has many more up-sides than down, not least of which would be a greater understanding, awareness and tolerance of cyclists by motorists generally. One way of achieving this is to nurture talent, raise the public profile of our best riders in the media and accept that there will be tantrums and inflated egos from time to time.

 

[HF2300]

I thought Wiggins was a free agent after this season....

I think he is, but that still means he could re-sign with Sky, and to do so may well be better for him in terms of Rio 2016 than signing with a trade team who have no connection with the British national team. I also get the impression that Brailsford meant on the assumption that they do agree a deal, though perhaps there's some loyalty there after all.

I can't find a link to the article, so maybe they haven't put it online.

... the thin line "difficult" characters walk within teams ...

Though it has to be remembered that people can be seen as difficult, in businesses and teams, when in fact the management's actions have created those difficulties (and I'm not necessarily commenting on Wiggins here).

 

[rich p]

Wiggins, like him or loathe him, has/had only a year or so on the road left anyway given that he was determined to go back to the track for Rio.
The OP's question is redundant or should be altered to " The Pro peloton needs Wiggins for another 12 months maximum"

 

[Hont]

I don't think the pro-peloton needs Wiggins, but it's a more interesting place with him in and there are lots more things I would have liked to see him do on the road. I don't really have any interest in seeing him back on the track where he has nothing to achieve but demonstrate his decline, but it's his life - whatever (he thinks) makes him happy.

His latest musings seem to stem from Sky not being a very warm place. Which we kind of knew from Cav. I think British Cycling/Sky are brilliant at performance management but they're not much cop at man-management (read Vicky Pendleton's book, Cav's tweets after joining OPQS, Kennaughs moan after the Tour of Austria). When riders have an alternative (another team) this could prove to be a real weakness which is far less important in British Cycling where the track stars have nowhere else to go.

 

[Flying Dodo]

About a month ago, Wiggins was giving large hints about possibly leaving Sky and signing for another team, to have another go at the TdF. It may of course be the case that another Pro peloton team may not want to sign him due to his baggage, hence his more recent comments about concentrating on the track.

 

[ayceejay]

I heard Wiggins himself complain about Sky tactics on the tour where you/he gets an early lead and then sits within a protective team cushion for two weeks. This worked until other teams wised up and invented a few tactics of their own. It was pathetic watching Froome challenged when he was on his own (in the Giro, I think) and personally I prefer the spectacle of individuals taking a risk and using their own racing moxey.

 

[smutchin]

I agree Wiggo should have been in the TdF team as a superdomestique but I'm not convinced he'd have been any better as a Plan B than Porte.

I'm also not convinced that having a Plan B is such a good idea anyway. It's fine if you have, say, Hinault and Lemond in your team but on the other hand, not if you have, say, Cadel Evans and Tejay Vangarderen, as BMC did in last year's Tour, to the benefit of neither.

Being able to implement Plan B, should the need arise, is another matter.

Geraint Thomas might have had a chance of winning the TdF in 2011 if Sky hadn't made him wait when Wiggo fell off. Froome definitely would have won the 2011 Vuelta if they hadn't made him wait for Wiggo on the Angliru. Although the way he almost overturned the deficit on Peña Cabarga shows what a classy racer Froome is when he's allowed/needs to follow his instinct rather than a strict by-the-numbers gameplan.

To be fair to Brailsford, I don't think he has ever claimed to know much about road racing.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Saxoff-Tinko had a good enough Plan B. Sky did not have a Plan B because their Plan A focused too much on using riders they have not developed as well as they should have.

 

[laurence]

in answer to the OP.

no, no it doesn't.

 

[roadrash]

its my opinion, anyone that rides for sky is expendable, just a part of a machine , a number, there is no empathy , no human element, if that makes any sense , i dont think im explaining what i mean very well , its like brailsford is trying to create a cycling team on par with ivan draggo in the rocky film ,if you know what i mean.

 

[Hip Priest]

It wasn't really a Wiggins parcours this year. He needs more TT miles as he had in 2012. I prefer Wiggins as a character, but there's no doubt in my mind that Froome was Sky's best bet for this year, and they did the right thing in building a team around him. Of course, it all went to pot when he broke his wrist, but that's racing.

 

[400bhp]

its my opinion, anyone that rides for sky is expendable, just a part of a machine , a number, there is no empathy , no human element, if that makes any sense , i dont think im explaining what i mean very well , its like brailsford is trying to create a cycling team on par with ivan draggo in the rocky film ,if you know what i mean.

Comes back to "its all about the numbers" as per british cycling mantra. Which us clearly more appropriate in a sterile track environment.