Not up a mountain I’ll grant you but when was the last (only?) time you’ve seen a yellow jersey rider lead out their sprinter going in to the final stage

A leadout in the last 500m where you win even if you fall off is not the same as loosing 30 mins after destroying yourself up a mountain

I find it hard to believe that Wiggans isn’t ‘good enough’ to make the team. There’s Froome and Porte, so that leaves 7 others. Are you saying there are 7 Sky riders better than Wiggans? If so, name them. If not, he’s in.

Unless Froome doesn’t want him in… but is it up to him?

The way Froome talks he makes it seem like there only room for one “number 2” – namely Porte, which is clearly boll*cks. Plus how many races has Porte failed to finish in recent months – is it 3 ?
And as for the rest of the team being settled – more rubbish. Sky have been struggling to field a full team in a number of races, so they can ill afford to drop one of their few riders with any sort of form this season.

So if they do, it’s purely going to be under threat from Froome.

They’ll be crashes aplenty in that first week (surely Geraint Thomas is too much of a risk!!) so Sky ought to have a Plan B.

I get the feeling she was pretty bitter that Wiggo never thanked Froome for towing him up the mountains and then stiffing Froome out of his share of the winnings (TdF winners split their winnings usually, Wiggins did, just forgot Froome for about a year). I get the feeling they’re just a bit chalk and cheese though and don’t get on beyond keeping professional. I have a few people here I’d never have work with each other because something would go nuclear but they’re happy to be polite in passing.

The way Froome talks he makes it seem like there only room for one “number 2” – namely Porte, which is clearly boll*cks. Plus how many races has Porte failed to finish in recent months – is it 3 ?

The Number 2 thing is about having a rider who could win the GC against the competition. I guess Froome feels that Porte would be better placed to win in mountains than Wiggins if he crashed. I don’t know if that’s true but he also is a mate of Portes so it’d be a far easier relationship during the race.

From the comfort of your desks who would your sky GC contenders top three be in order then?

I’d go

1: Froome
2: Wiggins
3: Porte.

Which is why I’d take Wiggins and Froome on the same team even if it meant renting a second bus for 3 weeks. I was poking the bear a bit earlier but in reality I think they can all be trusted to do the job that’s required of them.

I’m not convinced Wiggins would…

(stay loyal/do what he’s told/ride how the team want him to)

But there is no evidence of this? No precedent.

Why do people think Wiggans wouldn’t support the team?

Or, taking a bigger view, why would Wiggans jeopardise his reputation? I just can’t see it at all myself.

I reckon you’d have Froome and Porte as one and two, then Wiggins as super domestique, turn himself inside out up the start of climbs to keep the other two safe.

But there is no evidence of this? No precedent.

Millar bitches about him blowing out Garmin and not riding for the team in his book, but who knows the real story.

Yeah, Millar is quite clear that they gave Wiggins a chance to become a GC contender and he wriggled out of the final year of a contract despite giving assurances he was looking to extend the contract possibly up to 2012. I think they’ve reconciled but Wiggins does come out of it looking like a “me first” sort of person.

reggiegasket – Member

But there is no evidence of this? No precedent.

Why do people think Wiggans wouldn’t support the team?

well, he wouldn’t publicly state that he wouldn’t ride for the team, he’d probably withdraw with an ‘injury’, perhaps a hurty knee?

Wiggins does come out of it looking like a “me first” sort of person.

He definitely is, but that’s not very unusual amongst sport’s winners really.
In Paris-Roubaix, he let Geraint down a bit at the end I feel. He was too self-absorbed to see that G could have got a podium.

Brailsford has already said he thinks an awkward team dynamic is a good thing, so I can still see Wiggins making the team. The effect might well be that Froome and Wiggins up their games out of a bit of mutual dislike, but the end result might be a better team performance? I think the media are also making it look more adversarial than it actually is…

It all makes for a fascinating story too, just think how many sporting rivalries (in cycling and beyond: think of Hinault/Lemond) have made for utterly fascinating moments or achievements. It could be argued that rivalry brings out more than harmony sometimes…

Wiggins does come out of it looking like a “me first” sort of person.

I reckon in most sports (and elsewhere) those are the people who reach the very top, and win.

Total NON STORY ( imho )

Sky ( like other teams ) will field the squad they think gives them the best chance of Yellow in Paris …. END OF …..

As an aside Froome himself hinted in a recent interview that it may benefit Sky if Wiggins, Porte and Froome all rode as they would have 3 genuine GC contenders for the other teams to watch

More importantly, anyone know if Kyrienka is riding ? Last I heard he wasn’t very well..
Be sad if he wasn’t in the Tour, I totally admire him. 😕

Finished on the podium of the Bayern Rundfahrt (or however it’s spelled), probably in the TdF team

As an aside Froome himself hinted in a recent interview that it may benefit Sky if Wiggins, Porte and Froome all rode as they would have 3 genuine GC contenders for the other teams to watch

Be nice to see Contador blowing away all three of them, and not just Froome 😈

Can’t see it happening, though 🙁

Be nice to see Contador blowing away all three of them, and not just Froome

Can’t see it happening, though

Not since he changed his doctor butcher..

Contador ….. he tried everything last year and got nowhere. He was left standing when Froome attacked. Wrong kind of steak.

I’m going to guess after Oleg Tinkoff’s comments last year, that Contador will have the right kind of meat preparation this year.

Bertie does have a new beef supplier link and he has also been back on top form this year.

Anyone know if he is riding Dauphine or Suisse ?

Froome, Wiggo & Porte for a 1-2-3 in Paris 😀

Froome recently kicked up a bit of a fuss saying there’s been no testing out in Tenerife. It’s almost like he thinks Contador and Nibali have some sort of doping past and thinks they could do with checking out. 😆

Although more seriously I think he also wants to ensure nobody says he’s doping this year

Be a pity if Brad isnt there , hes not riding bad and if anything happened to Froome in the opening hectic week, it could save Sky a repeat of 2011 when if I remember correctly they had no rider in the top 20 after brads crash and broken collar bone?? Think with out too much trouble Brad could make top 10 and with a bit of luck maybe even podium, cant see anyone else on Sky team that could/would finish as high its a long 2 weeks with no interest in GC.

Can’t really blame him considering the scrutiny he faced last year. I think that he and other pros have to accept that to some extent but he’s right to make the point I reckon.

ChunkyMTB – Member
ChunkyMTB – Member
Wiggo won’t be on the Tour… trust me…
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Go on then Chunky, I’ll bite the bait 😀

Why would we trust you?

Although more seriously I think he also wants to ensure nobody says he’s doping this year

They’ll say it anyway, however much he protests 🙁

Of course they will, it’s just to what degree. I do wonder how Wiggo would have coped with the post-Armstrong inquisition that Froome faced at the Tour (I know he faced it at the time as reigning champion but not actually at the Tour)

Froome recently kicked up a bit of a fuss saying there’s been no testing out in Tenerife. It’s almost like he thinks Contador and Nibali have some sort of doping past and thinks they could do with checking out.

Although more seriously I think he also wants to ensure nobody says he’s doping this year

To be fair, if you’re riding clean – and let’s assume he’s genuinely clean – it must be a big worry knowing your success is at the merci of whether your rivals cheat or not.

As for Wiggins. To me, he has proven his performance this year. Put him in the Tour and let us see some action. I’ll be disappointed if he’s not there.

Am I the only person on here who likes both Wiggins & Froome?

They’re very different but I find much to admire in both their approaches and neither would have got where they are today without almost superhuman levels of dedication and sacrifice.

I’ll be up in Yorkshire next year and happy to cheer for both of them.

You’re looking at it as a spectator and I agree, it’d be great (probably) to have him in.

But if you were Brailsford, frankly all you’d really care about was whether it will make Froome more or less likely to win.

I’ll be up in Yorkshire next year and happy to cheer for both of them.

You might be a little lonely.

I think Wiggo’s lead out of Cav was an attempt to make good some of the dissapointment Cav felt after the Athens Olympics and also the 2012 Tour where Cav’s aspirations had to tae second place. As posted it didn’t cost Wiggo anything and certainly helped him look good.

As for the TdF 1/2/3 question I think it could be Froome/Porte/Wiggins as Porte supports Froome on the climbs and Wiggins has to fend for himself, if Froome is injured then Wiggins/Porte as Porte is asked to ride for Wiggins.

I was very happy to see Froome win last year and I’d like to see him do it again but if it costs Wiggins his place in the team that changes a lot for me.

The only thing I can add is that Sky will look pretty stupid if Wiggins is not in the team and Froome crashes out early as Wiggins did in 2011.

I just wish they could both race together and be happy with the boss’s verdict on who is Number 1 and who is Number 2.

I do wonder how Wiggo would have coped with the post-Armstrong inquisition that Froome faced at the Tour

lots of pottymouth and an epic flounce, probably

anyone posted this yet?
velocast

Team sky keeping everyone guessing and on the back foot,come the start the other teams will have Wiggo,Frome and Porte to try and stay in touch with,Brad will lead out till the mountains taking pressure off Frome and if he hasn’t gone down on the cobbles Frome to take over in the mountain with Porte and to a lesser part Brad supporting after that anyone’s guess depends on where they are time wise could come down to a two horse race to the end.

But that’s the point; Sky lets them race each other and they stand to lose because they’re looking at each other which means at best, Froome has a 7-man support or at worst, 3 or 4. That’s why teams usually pick a leader and a 2nd.

Still see it going down that way just think sky will hedge there bets till after the mountains,on an aside a think Frome has got the grunt cause he’s NOT a knight of the relm 😀

I don’t suppose he thanks them – not even the French ones.

The idea from some on this thread that Wiggo wouldn’t make the TdF team on merit based on performance and potential to help Froome is frankly quite bizarre. You don’t win the Tour of California without being a very good rider in good form – undoubtedly he’s stronger on the flat and on the climbs than most other Team Sky riders, including most of the team going to the DL. Of course there is clearly the issue of personalities, but is DB really going to take a rider who can’t do what Wiggo can do because he’s incapable of managing that, even assuming that Wiggo is really likely to rock the boat.