Like brutal nightclub bouncers and mass-murderers, sportsmen often succumb to self-pity

A prize for tenuous connections for the Grauniad… 🙂

I liked Bradley Wiggins before, I like him more now, never met him, but he sounds like a top bloke. I've followed him on Twitter and remember a great tweet about sitting on the train with a pack of Stella. (very pro cyclist)

His honesty is disarming and just makes you cheer for him more.

Maybe there should be a "Spirit of the tour" jersey.

+1. Top bloke, I really like him. I feel bad for him that he's not delivered. Nothing worse than building up to something and having it go badly.

I though it was great to hear someone at his level being so frank. Top bloke and still a decent rider. Top 20 and he's having a crap TDF. Not bad in my book.

Still likely to finish higher than Boardman ever did – and he was strangely touted as a potential contender at one point.

He got a right slagging in an article in the Sunday Times. It kept going on about how he had underperformed and yet still insisted that he was going to pull it round. I thought 'FFS, what do you want him to do? Say Yeah, I'm sh1t, me. I give up?'

Interesting article in Sat's Guardian re Moat's brother.

Police would not allow him to be involved in the final hours as they did not believe who he was.

Wasn't it Wiggins that laid into some boy and his dad for pinching his water bottle and breaking the cage a couple of years ago?
EDIT:clooking on wiki for confirmation when I found this

"It is nice to be recognised for actually achieving something in life as opposed to spending seven weeks in a house on TV with a load of other muppets." A reference to the television programme, Big Brother, after finishing fourth in the Tour de France prologue.

Well said that man

That's outrageous. He had a go at someone for stealing and breaking his stuff. Unforgivable.

Some worrying parallels between Wiggins & Obree.

Wasn't it Wiggins that laid into some boy and his dad for pinching his water bottle and breaking the cage a couple of years ago?

Youth gets told off for stealing shocker!

That's outrageous. He had a go at someone for stealing and breaking his stuff. Unforgivable.

Actually P'edMSL at the reaction of both father and son. I though a bit more of Wiggins for actually responding the way he did. Totally ballistic. Hilarious.

What a random article… d'you think the editor said something like 'I need an article about Moat that makes people think' and the writer read that to be 'makes people think WTF'?

BigButSlimmerBloke – Member
Wasn't it Wiggins that laid into some boy and his dad for pinching his water bottle and breaking the cage a couple of years ago?

Nah, that was McKewen and to be fair he only shouted at him.

Agree with general consensus

Have met him, is indeed a genuine top bloke with time for everyone.

Ok Brad and Sky could have had a better Tour but Geraint in white, Brad is not exactly doing a 'Lance'.

Didn't see that Sunday Times article but disappointing how it's generally full of anti-cycling sh!t these days.

No drugs story for a change this year either which is nice 🙂

What a random article

Isn't it? "If Raoul Moat and Hitler had just accepted that they weren't going to win the TdF this year, their stories wold have been very different…" 🙂

Some worrying parallels between Wiggins & Obree

what parallels no history of mental illness from Brad no idea what you are getting at there
Trully weird article

what parallels no history of mental illness from Brad no idea what you are getting at there

No, not mental illness, just the drinking. Unfounded really.

Having a can of Stella is (happily) a different thing from massive alcoholism and depression.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/345929/wiggins-descended-into-drink-and-depression-post-athens.html

Ah, I'd not read that. Thanks for linking it.

Just a thought, was it wise of Sky to dress their riders in black when it's 35 degrees?

Felt sorry for him as he was obviously suffering on this day; hopefully the remainder of the tour will be better for him.

his autobiography says he got quite into his drinking and quite out of his cycling.

He admits himself that he was depressed, albeit maybe not clinically depressed but the highs of Olympic success and achievement of goals left him a bit aimless and low. So he spent all day drinking in the pub

Again a very honest portrait of the guy. Even has the bit about last years tour in it which is v interesting.

p.s will swap Brad Wigggins autobiography for another cycling book if anyone interested.

Wasn't it Wiggins that laid into some boy and his dad for pinching his water bottle and breaking the cage a couple of years ago?

As mentioned above, that was Robbie McEwen. Some kid leaned over the barriers and grabbed the water bottle off Robbie's bike, Robbie yelled at him, grabbed it back and then signed it and gave it to another kid a bit further down who'd been standing there quietly. 🙂

I think the build up and hype surrounding Team Sky was always going to lead to unrealistic expectations – the way some people were talking they should have swept the Classics and gone on to win the Tour. 🙄
First season, good showing IMHO.

The white panel on the back was specifically to help in the sun … its the blue line that is taking it a bit far IMHO

I did enjoy Brad's book, having a pint with him would be much better than many other sports stars I think

Another vote for reading his biography. I would normally remove my own kidneys with a teaspoon than read a sportsmans biography. Lance Armstrongs for example, could be summarised by just writing "Do you know what? I'm ****ing great, I am!!!"

Brad had a bad paper round though. His dad was an absolute nutter!!! And he admits that he just went out and got leathered for 6 months after his first Olympic gold. Well worth a read

Whoever wrote Go Wiggo on that piece of road has remarkably neat handwriting.

Whoever wrote Go Wiggo on that piece of road has remarkably neat handwriting.

Yup. I think we can rule out this fella…

I dont know what's worse, that somebody wrote that load of guff or that I just read it.