[Closed] Wiggins Giro (spoiler)

I don't recall him being such a relative disaster downhill in previous races ? Something like new tyres maybe ? Or could it just be a mental block after throwing it on the floor a bit ?

Wet roads and good descenders who are taking risks.

... Or could it just be a mental block after throwing it on the floor a bit ?

My guess is this. Combined with the fact that he knows taking it cautiously will lose him (tens of) seconds whereas a crash may put him out of the race altogether. If you're not feeling right then maybe it's best to not take too many risks, try not to lose too much time and hope you come good again sooner rather than later.

Maybe Brad needed to come on here and ask 'what tyres for wet italian roads?'
It has been very wet. Did you see the stage finish the other day with about a foot of water crossing the finish line? The same finish that the 2nd rider through fell off taking the pack behind out. Its been phenomenally wet, and i don't think it matters how good a rider you are in those conditions. Its just luck if you stay upright.

Brad would be happier not to have lost any time to Nibali, but the stage tomorrow will show us how his form is, and if he has a chance to win the giro. I hope its dry

Must be a confidence and wet road thing as he normally is a good decender. He was pushing it on the front on some of the descents in races earlier this year and pulling out gaps.

Sets things up nicely for the rest of the week now though as some big names will have to go on the attack if they want to be on any step of the podium. Anyone know what the forecast in northern Italy is like for this week?

I think we need little bit of perspective about Wiggins "poor" descending

Wiggins lost about a minute on that descent yesterday, with Astana taking all sorts of risks to drop him. On the flat both Astana AND Garmin were going full bore to try and keep the gap, but Sky just rode straight up to them.

Wiggins looked quite comfortable at the foot of the last climb and it was hesjedal that went out the back.

Result was that Garmin shot themselves in the foot, Nibali hasn't gained any time when racing to his strengths and Wiggins is being written off as a contender.

Not sure how Wiggins can gain time on Nibali without a long TT, but his position is pretty good.

I think we need little bit of perspective about Wiggins "poor" descending

I think by his own standards he has been poor. Plenty of racing still to come though.

I think to quote the man himself yesterday - "I was descending like a girl"

Some good photos over at [url= http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/giro-ditalia-rider-galleries-bradley-wiggins ]cyclingnews[/url], it's been pretty grim out there. And riders like Wiggo who have to lose a lot of mass in the run up to a grad tour will really not be appreciating the cold and wet.

I think to quote the man himself yesterday - "I was descending like a girl"

I like that interview with him; seemed a bit more himself.

Friday's stage he definitely just lost his bottle on the descent. Nibali binned it and was up and on his bike and at full speed in about 20s. Wiggins just rolled down really and only got back to full speed when they had to TT onto the back of the pack.

I think it's now Nibali's to lose, his TT performance has increased enough to keep him in contention there, he's a good climber with a good set of team mates and is prepared to take risks to win a grand tour.

Question...

I may have missed something here, but why don't Sky have their big climbers riding in this ? Kiriyenka of course, Froome, possibly Bosen-Hagen, Porte even Thomas ?

I'd have thought they'd have the best team possible there ?

good question - are they really supporting wiggo this year?

I may have missed something here, but why don't Sky have their big climbers riding in this ? Kiriyenka of course, Froome, possibly Bosen-Hagen, Porte even Thomas ?

I'd have thought they'd have the best team possible there ?

From what I picked up from the commentary on Eurosport, this is a really good team. Sky are just good/big enough that they can field two almost entirely different teams for the Giro and Tour - as I understand it Wiggins will be the only rider to do both.

The answer to that based upon the support he's getting on the hills is... No they're not... .they're a good team... but not a REALLY good team.

I can understand it's a bloody hard race, so doing both is tough etc... but it's almost like they gave up before even going there with the team they've put out.

The team time trial showed they're at the sharp end, of course... but in the hilly stages Brad seems to be FAR less protected than you'd expect.

Weeksy - Froome and Porte are targeting Le Tour this year. Boasen-Hagen and Thomas have just finished the classics season so aren't in the right nick for a grand tour.

Sky have got Henao, Uran and Siutsou supporting Wiggins - all of whom are superb climbers (and probably represent lans B, C and D respectively).

"wiggo (and a few others) will have to attack on the climbs"
Has that happened? Ever?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-de-france-2012/stage-17/results

weeksy - Member
Question...

I may have missed something here, but why don't Sky have their big climbers riding in this ? Kiriyenka of course, Froome, possibly Bosen-Hagen, Porte even Thomas ?

I'd have thought they'd have the best team possible there ?

Apart for Froome and maybe Porte, I would say Henao and Uran are the best climbers sky have, so I wouldn't say it's a weak team at all. It's just mainly come down to Wiggins doesn't like the wet anyway, descending or not, I think I am right in saying he's not keen on cold/wet weather generally and also his descending skills are not up there with Nabali or Evans. But still two weeks to go, he's on the back foot but it's hardly over for him.

Just having a quick look at those pics on cyclingnews site got me thinking. It seems to me a question of physics. Brad has got long, skinny legs, with a comparatively larger bulk above his saddle/stem line. His recent 'upright' descending means he has even more mass above that line, not helped by having lots of post out. Now, surely its all about relative pivot points...the more weight you have further off the tarmac, means the likelihood of toppling over increases dramatically. You look at the shit descenders...Schlecks, Ryder and now Wiggo...all have similar builds. Look at the good descenders...Nibali, Contador, Evans...they all have a smaller frame with (what looks to me) more relative weight in their legs. Brad used to get right down on the top tube during descents, and it seems to me the wet surface has knocked his confidence, however he'll never get the skill back if he carries on descending in an upright position. So, what are the chances of using a dropper post on a road bike? 🙂

Wonders if dropper posts are UCI legal?

Just remember, a fall in the 2011 Tour put him out. Im sure that's still sitting in the back of his mind.
A whole season/year of building up for it only for it to be wiped out that easily, I know I might be a bit wary descending if I was constantly falling and see lots of other riders falling around me too.

Given the conditions I think Wiggins is making the right move taking his time on the descents. I am no expert, but seems the logical thing to be doing. Too much at risk, and he is very much still in it. Still glad I backed Evans though each way @ 20/1 🙂

atlaz - Member
I think it's now Nibali's to lose, his TT performance has increased enough to keep him in contention there, he's a good climber with a good set of team mates and is prepared to take risks to win a grand tour.

Yep I think bar an injury/massive mistake it's his, which is good he's been consistent at the Giro and deserves to take the title. I look forward to his Mountain TT!a

Wonders if dropper posts are UCI legal?

You mean like [url= http://www.bikeradar.com/gallery/article/tour-de-france-tech-adjustable-seatposts-and-funky-graphics-30831/1 ]this?[/url]

good point there, acracer.

OK he's not got froome-dog leading him but the 2x colombianos will do the same.

Nibals will of course have the upper hand on those really steep finishes but if Wiggur has been training as effectively as we're told, the tactic may be to get the team to set a relentless pace from the base of some of those big big passes like stelvio or even Galibier.
Once a gap is formed, due to sheer consistency of pace, he's created a time-trial stage from a mountain stage....
I'd LOVE to see it.

I hate rest days

we'll get an idea of how everyone is climbing tomorrow - nice mountain finish with a 20% in the closing KMs

long range weather forecast for Sunday at the foot of the Galibier is for rain.I wouldn't be suprised if it will be snowing on the col. Hmm wonder if I'll ride up or take the thermos.

David Millar tweeted something yesterday saying that Wiggins has just lost a bit of confidence and it happens to everyone.

I think we can all relate to that - who on here has had a bad crash then struggled to regain the same sort of commitment? Gone through a period of riding like a bag of spanners for a bit? I'd hazard a guess at most of us.

Better to lose 30 seconds on a descent and work back on than crash, break your collar bone and be out for 6 weeks. And those roads were SOAKING wet, it was like a river at times.

Mind you, it's livened up the race no end, it's a great spectacle this year. Tomorrow should be a good stage as well, first of the properly mountainous days.

Just remember, a fall in the 2011 Tour put him out. Im sure that's still sitting in the back of his mind

But that was a huge pile-up on the road before an intermediate sprint and was not a skill failure from his PoV. It's not like he binned it descending from a mountain. If anything it should show him the value of being at the sharp end of the race not stuck in the middle/back where someone elses accident becomes yours quite fast.

it's sunny!

at the moment

nibble's turn for some bad luck

What happened to Nibbles?

Chain off. Reports of bike change, but it wasn't shown on telly.
He's now right behind the sky train.

That descent is a corker.

Plan B swings into action - Uran goes for it.

Nibali could have rode that stage with one leg. He's head and shoulders above the rest.

Good win for Uran , I think Sky should now be looking at switching there priorities.

i think they just have switched

Oh Bradley, those steep bits really don't suit you me old mate. 🙁

And this is when he's in the best condition he's ever been in according to 'the numbers'....

So, does this mean all those Bradley Wiggins autobiographies from last year are going to start turning up in second hand bookshops?

Difficult to see how Nibali can be touched given that he's going for every bonus point and second over his rivals as well. Great to see Evans is such good shape as well

It's simple - to win a grand tour- you have to be consistent in the mountains. Bradders isn't without good support - and all the other teams know it.
Indurain was able to attack in the mountains - it was never exciting to watch because all he used to do was up his cadence and eventually everyone cracked. Pure climbers like froome and uran are exciting to watch - but they do crack. Wiggo needs to keep doing what he is doing and limiting time loss. Sky need to keep him paced and let him crack the others by upping cadence instead of chasing off all the time like froome or Uran.

Even after today - Wiggo still only a second behind Uran on general classification. In the mountain time trial Uran is likely to lose 2-3 minutes on wiggo. Still all to play for.

Tactically wiggins has lost 30 seconds on a top 10 finish in the mountains. Not a bad effort.

I still reckon a top 3 finish.

I remember the last time Wiggins was gibbering on about numbers. He made a mess of that grand tour too.

How exactly is Uran going to lose 2-3 mins to Wiggins over a 20.6KM time trial?

Nibali looks far too strong to be overhauled at the moment, it's still relatively early days though.

In the mountain time trial Uran is likely to lose 2-3 minutes on wiggo.