Tour de France 2012 (with SPOILERS)

[ColinJ]

I know Sagan only has to finish to keep the Green Jersey, with Greipel & Goss too far away to challenge but anyone looked a bit further down the points table lately? Cavendish in 4th ....
But there are few people who are close enough to Cav now to take even that away from him. Or maybe not ?

I think as far as Cav is concerned there are two significant positions in competition - won and didn't!

 

[Willo]

I'm a worrier, so am not tempting fate by assuming it is all over. However, this is topping a real golden era for British cycling. Seeing a British 1-2 lead the Tour at the end of the mountains is something that was simply unimaginable until, well, now. Had trouble reconciling my conscience when I subscribed to the media empire that Sky is part of, but there's no denying that their sponsorship and the excellent team that has funded have combined to revolutionise British road cycling. Thought it was great to see the road painting dominated by Wiggo and co. today and spent most of time watching the highlights wishing I was there.

These are very special times and if it makes me, at 43, want to don my Sky top and haul myself up the North Downs, imagine what it is doing for a future generation of cyclists. Brilliant.

p.s. honourable mention to Tommy who also makes me want to don my Europcar top and pull funny faces as I huff and puff up to Wye Crown!

 

[Slaav]

4 of us were in an office this afternoon watching teh end of the stage.

All 4 thought they should have gone for the win. We all then agreed (when the proper cyclist explained) that why risk tomorrow or the GC for an ego win today?

After all, we have never ever got the GC before - stage wins are common place these days?

 

[thom]

Bradley in the post stage press conference : http://soundcloud.com/cycling-central/tour-de-france-stage-17
At the end he makes a fine few points of the persistent negative questioning of him.
Has any cyclist ever won Paris-Nice, Dauphine, Romandie and TdF in the same season ?
He came third in the Volto ao Algarve too. I don't recall him entering anything else.

 

[Noodley]

Has any cyclist ever won Paris-Nice, Dauphine, Romandie and TdF in the same season ?

No cyclist has not won the Tour after winning all the former events.

 

[thom]

No cyclist has not won the Tour after winning all the former events.

So this makes him the best cyclist ever. ;-)
(assuming he doesn't fall off his bike between now and the Avenue of the Elysian fields).

 

[Chuffy]

Part of me wants to wander into the Clinic and moon the shoot out of half the residents.

 

[stampedingviking]

Part of me wants to wander into the Clinic and moon the s*** out of half the residents.

Likely to get a 'holiday' for celebrating a Sky win!

 

[Monsieur Remings]

So, when will Froome's time come? I know that Wiggins was a gentleman when interviewed about his super-domestique stating that he would be there to support him winning the TDF at some point in the future, but will that be next year? Will Froome be tempted to jump ship if Team Sky don't pledge their support for him next season? Is this a premature assessment?

FWIW, I don't think it is..?

 

[johnr]

Dave Brailsford, the Sky cyclists and support staff have done an incredible job. When he announced his intentions to put a Brit on the top of step of the podium at the TdF in five years, I think even hardened cycling fans thought Lord Brailsford (pending) was perhaps a little too optimistic.

In a country that isn't run by old Etonians and sundry other blazered aparatchiks, he would be given free rein as head of sports development charged with making the structural changes which would replicate the achievements across the board. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him headhunted in the next few years by a nation less enamoured of patricians to do precisely that.

But for now, I'm treasuring the moment and looking optimistically forward to being further absorbed and delighted by more and perhaps greater achievements.

 

[johnr]

So, when will Froome's time come? I know that Wiggins was a gentleman when interviewed about his super-domestique stating that he would be there to support him winning the TDF at some point in the future, but will that be next year? Will Froome be tempted to jump ship if Team Sky don't pledge their support for him next season? Is this a premature assessment?

FWIW, I don't think it is..?

I've been impressed by the independence given to the team to speak frankly to the media. They've all consistently repeated that they are following a team plan. The media, however, seem to be unable to report intelligently on anything. Their analysis of the honest appraisals they are given by the athletes is about as deep and relevant as that of the ins and outs of a c-list celebrity's love life.

I presume the Sky team will analyse the next Tour route and make their decisions accordingly. That may or may not be good news for Froome. But on the other hand, whilst he would certainly have won a few mountain stages, is there another team which would guarantee to keep him in yellow to Paris in the face of determined opposition from, say, Sky?

 

[Monsieur Remings]

I've been impressed by the independence given to the team to speak frankly to the media. They've all consistently repeated that they are following a team plan. The media, however, seem to be unable to report intelligently on anything. Their analysis of the honest appraisals they are given by the athletes is about as deep and relevant as that of the ins and outs of a c-list celebrity's love life.

I presume the Sky team will analyse the next Tour route and make their decisions accordingly. That may or may not be good news for Froome. But on the other hand, whilst he would certainly have won a few mountain stages, is there another team which would guarantee to keep him in yellow to Paris in the face of determined opposition from, say, Sky?

I think you've hit the nail on the head there mate, this is the question that is worth considering.

But, I think Froome has shown the sort of quality that defies the average logic of a good rider riding for another, more experienced, better rider. In the Vuelta last year, and this year in the TDF he has proven IMO, that he is a stronger rider than Wiggins and whilst Wiggins' TT was 35 seconds better than his team rival this small gap would have easily been made up by Froome in the mountains, where he has proven time and again that not only is he the central engine of Team Sky and that he is capable of pulling off stage victories when most domestiques in his position would have dropped off way before the finish, but that he has the power and talent to do even better. I appreciate that any team cannot have two main GC contenders however, but after this year where I believe Brad has it in the bag, a reappraissal may be required.

This year the glory belongs to Wiggins and his team that have done their job superbly. Next year, I sincerely hope that Froome is given the protection he so afforded Wiggins; a protection that without, I'm not so sure Wiggins would have been wearing yellow without.

 

[smutchin]

I've been impressed by the independence given to the team to speak frankly to the media. They've all consistently repeated that they are following a team plan.

The Stepford Cyclists?

I'm happy with the way they address the media at the moment because the team line seems to be from the heart (Cav has always sounded entirely sincere when thanking his team) but I hope they don't become so "professional" that we start getting footballer style platitudes and cliches.

That said, I'm reasonably confident we won't because pro cyclists seem to be just that not more intelligent than your average footballer. (Biased? Moi?)

d.

 

[PaulB]

It's because cycling success isn't seen as anything remarkable after GB's dominance in the Olympic track events. Few people in the general public or the media understand that Chris Hoy's gold medals for sprinting are regarded as no more than a minor little curiosity in the world of cycling, or that the road and particularly the Tour de France are light years ahead of it in terms of prestige.

But that's bollocks. I don't mean your post, I mean it's bollocks if that's the case. My gripe is that Wiggins isn't getting a tiny fraction of the attention or credit he deserves. He is by us, of course but we're cycling aficionados. We may not be tennis, Formula 1, Cricket or Olympics aficionados but the main media outlets won't skimp on showing those sports.

Apparently, the Times and Telegraph have gone a long way to rectifying that today but the BBC news! Nothing at all is mentioned about this HUGELY significant thing that's going on and is about to get bigger, during the hour-long programme but there's loads about the Olympics and loads about people we've never heard of or the British football team. The sports thread began with that scab presenter going on about the Olympic park, then came the Open, then came cricket and finally, less than one minute about Wiggins and his truly historic on-going achievement. Even on our local news (north-west) Lancashire-based Bradley Wiggins is the very last item on!

It's nowhere near good enough and I'm surprised at the lack of outrage shown in this situation.

 

[smutchin]

That may or may not be good news for Froome. But on the other hand, whilst he would certainly have won a few mountain stages, is there another team which would guarantee to keep him in yellow to Paris in the face of determined opposition from, say, Sky?

Look at who else Sky have in their squad to answer that question - Uran, Thomas and Henao in particular. If Froome jumps ship, they'll crush him.

d.