What Is Sir Bradley up to?

[oldroadman]

I guess he is going to up the game next year, I can't see SKY paying out top money just for a World TT title and the rest of the time domestic duties...

After all the effort that went into last season he deserves a break!

A world champion in a road discipline is worth top money (see Sparatacus, Tony Martin). TT champions generally operate very well in a team where there is a need for some powerful chasing and lead outs, with the added bonus of stage wins being likely. Wins of any sort are worth money because they bring publicity. In a very basic way, this is what professional racing is all about.
Anyone looking down on a TT world champion needs to think what it is like to be at close to full gas for about an hour, in a TT position and serious pain from start to finish.
TT champion at pro level is not second prize!!

 

[Kevin Airey]

Tony Martin wins far more TTs than just the worlds and is a dominant force in any he takes part in.

No team is going to pay top money to ONLY a world champion, don't read into my post too deep, of course they are going to be worth good money but top money goes to Grand Tour GC riders which I do hope Wiggins can get back to.

World championships depending on the course suit different riders, surely a seasons performance is what gauges a riders worth? And Wiggo ain't world TT champion yet!

 

[oldroadman]

Combination, top GC riders tend to be best paid, world champs next, top class domestiques next. Plus pay is often about how many UCI points you bring to a team which enhances their ranking and/or gets them into or keeps their place in world tour. Consider this season, Gilbert wears the rainbow bands for the road, but has hardly been stellar, so his value may fall, possibly depending on whether his agent can convince a team that he really is worth top dollar.

 

[thom]

It was a strange weekend in that I read a little of the sports section of the Times newspaper, in particular an article on Mo Farrah (for he is great and had just done another great thing) and the other was based on an interview with Shane Sutton.
What I had not understood was that he and Brad had stopped working together this season due to some kind of disagreement over style/training/priorities. The details are not explained (for it is the Times and hence this is a team Sky advertorial really and to be fair it is not important and clearly Shane did not begrudge Brad anything) but since the Giro, the injury, Brad's recuperations and refocusing on the World Champ TT, they have been back working together.

 

[Kevin Airey]

One things for sure they aren't overpaid for the amount of commitment, effort and sacrifice they put in, and that applies to most of them it's still probably the toughest sport around...

 

[Kevin Airey]

It was a strange weekend in that I read a little of the sports section of the Times newspaper, in particular an article on Mo Farrar (for he is great and had just done another great thing) and the other was based on an interview with Shane Sutton.
What I had not understood was that he and Brad had stopped working together this season due to some kind of disagreement over style/training/priorities. The details are not explained (for it is the Times and hence this is a team Sky advertorial really and to be fair it is not important and clearly Shane did not begrudge Brad anything) but since the Giro, the injury, Brad's recuperations and refocusing on the World Champ TT, they have been back working together.

It's going to be an interesting next few months both on and off the road!

 

[Louch]

that they are working together tells me Brads had another boot up the backside meeting .

 

[thom]

that they are working together tells me Brads had another boot up the backside meeting .

Which page would that be described in within the manual on marginal gains ?

 

[Strathlubnaig]

Wiggins may be targeting ITT stages in races, but he still has to step up and do his bit for the GC or stage wn targeting rider on his TEAM from time to time, instead of riding in the bunch 'saving his legs'.

 

[thom]

Well then, Brad states he is back on track for the next Olympics, that Chris Froome is likely a better GC rider than him and that he is unlikely to ride another Tour de France.

 

[oldroadman]

Just realism. Six years age difference is half a working life for most pros, and the retirement age is getting close at 34. Why not specialise in a discipline where you can train locally and go home to your family most nights, if the option is available. Brad has nothing to prove, he's been ther, done it, has all the shirts, including yellow ones, rainbow ones, and non-existant Olympic ones. If he believes he can move into a mode of TT specialism, being a super-dom with a massive engine, and then focus on the track, then why not? It's not an easy decision and maybe some discussion with wise advisers has taken place, to align personal and professional objectives. No bad thing, it makes for a calm mind, and with that, who knows what may yet happen?

 

[KittyJay]

I dont know why but I find that quite sad

I do too. Quite poignant really.

 

[thom]

it makes for a calm mind, and with that, who knows what may yet happen?

I hope also that he can give it a wang in some classics races too - how plausible would you think that would be ? Could he find the magic sauce so to speak (no innuendo intended), that Cancellara has and makes him not only a TT god but a king when it comes to the classics ?

 

[jdtate101]

I think him returning to the track is a smart play for him. Brad strikes me as a guy who wears his emotions openly (we've all seen his quirky outbursts), and perhaps the road life isn't for him. It seems he's lost the fire for the GC now that his team contains a proven GC winner who's younger and better at climbing than he is. What is for sure is that Brad is one of the best time trialists in the world and as such I bet he feels he should play to his strengths. Returning to the track will mean he has less attention from the press, can live at home and train at Manchester velodrome. Overall I think this will make him much happier.

PS. I also would expect to see a similar announcement from Cav at some point, ie abandon the road to focus on track in the lead up to the next Olympics. He's mentioned before how much he wants a medal, and this may be his last shot.

 

[ayceejay]

Well then, Brad states he is back on track for the next Olympics, that Chris Froome is likely a better GC rider than him and that he is unlikely to ride another Tour de France.

I have an idea for a New Look Tour. What we do is line up every contestant and each one gets to choose a rider who he thinks is better than him. We send home those not chosen and then get the other riders' to go through the process again until we arrive at the one everyone thinks is better than them. This way we eliminate all that sweat and crowds gathering on mountain tops oh! and of course competition. Maillot Jaune decided by committee not commitment.