Either way, look at this guy out front at the end. The best pedalling style of any road cyclist, ever.

The guy who can’t handle changes of pace on climbs and got dropped on the last steep bit? 😉

Either way, look at this guy out front at the end. The best pedalling style of any road cyclist, ever.

Doesn’t look much like Moser to me 🙂

You MrsBouy just called me about Wiggo on the Beeb stating he’s not going to the Tour..

Big
Fat
Hairy
Deal

I’m a huge fan of Wiggo, but couldn’t care less where he rides, just so long as he continues enjoying it.

Froome on the other hand I’m a bit Meh about, never made a connection with that chap, great rider, whinging personality.

Can’t stand whingers me.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/27729769

Wiggo not to ride TdF

He’s just confirmed on BBC news he won’t be riding the TDF

Errr yes but no! :D, “as it stands” its great. I love a bit of hype.

So the reports are that he won’t ride “As it stands” could this signal he is about to jump ship to another team for the tour?

Would that even be possible? Or is he destined to watch the tour on the couch like the rest of us?

For the non-cyclist (and thus probably the sponsors) I think Wiggins delivers a huge amount more value than Froome.

However much they say Froome is British he still sounds like he isn’t whereas Wiggins is the bloke from the pub done good. That whole ‘let’s do the raffle’ thing as he was handed the mike after his TdF win was perfect.

Best result would be if Sky could put two teams in the tour – they’ve probably got enough talent to do it justice 🙂

Froome certainly gives the impression of being a pretty classless individual – he’d be far better off keeping his trap shut and doing his talking on the bike, rather than tarnishing his own achievements by trash talking other people.

“he said he was better than you. He called you crap. He said you ride like a huge preying mantis pushing a shopping trolley. He said you love looking at stems because you’ve got no stem to speak of.
Are you going to let him talk about you like that? You’re not a real man if you let him do that”

bit late but LOL

He’s just confirmed on BBC news he won’t be riding the TDF

From a sporting sense that may be the best option for Sky but in every other sense I think Brailsford has dropped a bollock.

I think he underestimates the venom for Froome amoungst the British public due to the apparent way he has sidelined wiggins, not though sporting prowess but by not being able to work with the guy.

At worst Wiggins is the 3rd best rider on the team (you could argue 2nd as Porte hasn’t proved anything). Any other team would take someone who was top 10 at Roubaix (in a year with cobbles in the TdF), can climb with the best or drive on the flat in a heartbeat.

But since Froome and Wiggins can’t work together Wiggins isn’t going. The reasons for that may be 50:50 each of their fault but the British public don’t see that as Wiggins is their Olympic hero, a knight of the realm. They don’t blame Brailsford for this, they blame Froome.

Froome is the reason they won’t get to see their hero in Yorkshire this July. This could be the begining of the end for the marketing masterstroke that was Sky + cycling. If the British public fall out of love with the team as they are no longer a team of British heros but a team of international mercenaries, just another cycling team., then the value to Sky no longer exists to the same extent.

So Brailsford, give us what we want, you’ll probably still win the tour anyway.

Froome hadn’t won a shit load of Olympic medals first though, and been trying to win the TDF for 4 previous years, having already come 3rd and missed out on a probable win through a crash. Wiggo’s hero status isn’t only for the one TDF win, although it was the icing on the cake

+1…

Froome is a whinging little so & so.

I don’t think there is venom for Froome, I like him anyway.

With that article it does look like Wiggo is out baring something unforeseen, which is a shame because I’d like to see both there.

I still think that if (if) Wiggo dominates the ToS and is a good boy then he is in.

Lets face it though, both have their irritating aspects.

Froome hadn’t won a shit load of Olympic medals first though, and been trying to win the TDF for 4 previous years, having already come 3rd and missed out on a probable win through a crash. Wiggo’s hero status isn’t only for the one TDF win, although it was the icing on the cake.

erm….I thought the UK public first heard of wiggins when he won the tdf at which point the media said “oh yeah he’s won shitloads of other bike races too”

Didn’t wiggins get his hero status for being the first brit TDF winner, being moody and swearing?

I thought it was another own goal from Froome. He’s clearly trying to force Brailsford’s hand in keeping Wiggins out of the TdF

Froome certainly gives the impression of being a pretty classless individual – he’d be far better off keeping his trap shut and doing his talking on the bike, rather than tarnishing his own achievements by trash talking other people.

The irony is strong on this one.

All of the noise coming out of the TdF last year was that team Sky was a much more harmonious place in 2013 than 2012. His team mates love Froome, the French press love Froome and it seems he acts with class most of the time.

Why the British public don’t warm to him is not class but that he is ruthlessly ambitious and lacking in personality. Some may say dull.

We prefer Wiggins self depcrating humor and slight nuttyness.

Froomes “plastic Brit” repuation only comes after this. We love a foreigner on our side in this country and the list of people who are adored despite not being born and/or bred here is endless. Wiggins himself was born in Belgium to an Aussi farther, our cricket and rugby teams are full of Aussis and South Afircans. The country’s greatest sporting hero of this millenium, Martin Johnson, could have played for New Zealand. Moh Farrah is adored even though steriotypically a black, somalian muslim would not be high on the British public’s list of things the love. Kevin Pieterson, Zola Bud, Mike Catt, Linford Christie, the German sprinter who fell over in the Olympic velodrome…

If “classless” means lacking in a bit of personality but also not being a shit stirrer and someone who looks out for #1 first then yes. However it’s not my understanding of how it works. Froome comes across as a bit dull, granted, but he’s certainly got more class than Wiggins.

I’m pretty sure that had Wiggins not won the TdF in 2012 and Froome had won it in 2013, loads of the people who hate him would love him.

He may win loads but coming across as such a whiny back stabbing tit means that it takes the enjoyment out of watching him. With any luck Nibali will wipe the floor with him this year and Quintana will come back next year and dominate for a few seasons.

The quotes on the BBC website from Froome certainly don’t slag off Wiggins.

Pretty reasonable I’d say.

The headline on the other hand…
It’s a induced partial quote. Froome is asked if Wiggins not staying with Froome when he attacked on that climb was a sign of weakness says “yes, to an extent”. Well of course it was. One of them could attack and the other couldn’t. Froome also says that he reckons Wiggins could have attacked but he wasn’t up for it and that he thought Wiggins was strong enough to stay with the attack.
That becomes a headline of I sensed mental weakness in Sir BW.

More interesting were the comments from the likes of Thomas in 2013 about how good a leader Froome was to work for because you knew he’d take every advantage you manufactured for him and capitalise on it for the team. Contrast that with the things team mates were meant to have said about Wiggins.

but also not being a shit stirrer

Froome is still a shit stirrer. But he does it in a really unloveable way. Attacking Wiggo in 2012 was not on, it undermined the team and he did it on purpose to shit stir to get his own way. This new book is shit stiring. It may be timed just to sell books but it’s not like he needs the money so he didn’t have to do it. It’s ruthless calculated shit stirring with a purpose and we don’t like it.

Wiggins may also be a shit stirrer but he does it with panache, little sarcy comments to a journalist here and there. His statement today is shit stirring to get the British public on his side and we’ve lapped it up.

So Bradley Wiggins wont ride the Tour? Ok move on. Doesn’t do himself any favours. Abit more decorum than whinging please.

It may be timed just to sell books but it’s not like he needs the money so he didn’t have to do it

one of the loveable aspects of really rich people is how often they say “nah I reckon I’m rich enough now”

Is the story about Wiggo not giving Froome his share of the 2012 TdF winnings true?

Wiggins himself was born in Belgium to an Aussi farther, our cricket and rugby teams are full of Aussis and South Afircans.

Oh leave off. Wiggins was brought up in London and spent his formative years riding at Herne Hill. He now lives in Lancashire.

In contrast, Froome is a Kenyan-born Monaco resident. There are plenty of reasons to admire him but patriotism isn’t one of them.

whiny back stabbing tit

UK media do indeed seem intent on portraying him as such. I don’t think that’s the case if you actually read what he’s being asked and the responses he gives.

And if anyone is shit stirring it’s journalists.

[/quote]erm….I thought the UK public first heard of wiggins when he won the tdf at which point the media said “oh yeah he’s won shitloads of other bike races too”
Didn’t wiggins get his hero status for being the first brit TDF winner, being moody and swearing?

Anyone who had watched the previous few Olympics had heard of Wiggins.

…no longer a team of British heros but a team of international mercenaries, just another cycling team., then the value to Sky no longer exists to the same extent.

This.

And Wiggins rightly or wrongly is a bit of a individual. He’s hard to managed around a team/team orders as we know, as was Cavendish hence his exit.

However – not riding the TdF? He’s commented before about how he hates the off season committment and this year he’s done that effort again and is looking strong – why not follow it through rather than through it away, even if its not with Sky?

Now, Wiggins going to Garmins Sharp with Cav would be fireworks in the TdF this year for sure.

No Bradley sadly
Just Froome is gloom..

Anyone who had watched the previous few Olympics had heard of Wiggins.

they’ll have heard his name will they have remembered it? We won a shitload of medals in london and a few at Sochi, apart from a couple of the poster boys/girls of london I doubt I could name many others and I’m buggered if I can remember a brit medal winner from sochi.

I’ve not got a beef with BW but I do reckon his household name status came from the TDF win and his personality rather than all the great track work he did. But it’s just a theory.

So no venom from you – plenty of others who don’t warm to him though. The suggestion that he’s not a shit stirrer certainly seems quite bizarre given current circumstances – I have to wonder whether those supporting him don’t just hate Wiggins.

Was that because Froome was getting his own way?

Froomes “plastic Brit” repuation only comes after this. We love a foreigner on our side in this country and the list of people who are adored despite not being born and/or bred here is endless.

Though it’s far from a universal love – kind of surprised to see Budd on your list as she’s one example I’d have given of somebody who wasn’t particularly loved. The interesting difference between her and the rest of your list of people not born here is that she never really integrated as a Brit, did her sporting development here or spent significant amounts of time here, it was always just a convenience thing for her – now I wonder who else has that in common with her?

And if anyone is shit stirring it’s journalists.

& Froome is making the most of it…or he’s being naive….?

it was always just a convenience thing for her – now I wonder who else has that in common with her?

Oooh… I know… I know. Lewis Hamilton? Jenson Button? Or is it okay as they’re not “plastic Brits” but have buggered off abroad as soon as they’ve become successful?

Froome is still a shit stirrer.

I really don’t think he is. If he has a problem, it’s that if you ask him a question, he’ll tell you what he thinks. All the stuff that’s been all over the media about the drama between him and Wiggo is just because his book’s been serialised and is getting loads of publicity – if they’d released it in, say, November, we probably wouldn’t have heard anything about it. Mind you, it wouldn’t have sold as many copies, and that’s kind of the aim of the game with writing books.

I have to wonder whether those supporting him don’t just hate Wiggins.

I really like Wiggins but I’ve no doubt he can be sulky, moody, and bloody hard work to manage. I would like to see him ride, especially after his performance in Paris Roubaix, but reckon they’ve made the right decision in leaving him out. Worth the hassle if he’s your team leader, not worth it if he’s not.

And this…

I really don’t think he is. If he has a problem, it’s that if you ask him a question, he’ll tell you what he thinks.

I like that you don’t get some media friendly sound bite or something just to please the fans. Stoner had the same problem in MotoGP.

Maybe it’s just me then who remembers all of these:
Sir Steve Redgrave
Sir Matthew Pinsent
Sir Ben Ainslie
Sir Chris Hoy
Dame Kelly Holmes
Becky Adlington
(interesting to see what most of those have in common – not intentional when I was drawing up the list)

Remember that Wiggo came home from Beijing a multi gold medallist – standing alongside Adlington and only just behind Hoy in that respect. I should have thought anybody taking an interest in sport would remember him in the same way I remembered Adlington despite not following swimming at all apart from at the Olympics.

Hmm, well clearly their British nationality isn’t just a convenience thing – try again.

Oooh… I know… I know. Lewis Hamilton? Jenson Button?

it’s a strange one, come to UK, spend your time there adopt it as you’re own and you get patriotic support. UK parents but you only ever set foot here for business reasons = plastic Brit. Grow up here but bugger off to a tax haven as soon as you start earning big bucks = UK boy done good.

“Patriotic” support is weird

Aracer:
Ed Coode, Sarah Ayton, Leslie Law? Those who know their sports will know who they are, me and (probably) most of public have the foggiest, you need to do more than win an olympic gold to be remembered. Yes Wiggins won quite a few but pre 2012 I don’t think I’d ever seen him mentioned on tv outside of olympics medal table and tdf coverage.

Froome is a British citizen but was born abroad. He didn’t come here and naturalise for convenience. He did, obviously, emphasise the Britishness to help his career get started as in Kenya there’s no money to be had as a cyclist.

Actually I DO think that the Britishness is a matter of convenience. Sportspeople who bugger off abroad to save money (i.e. it’s not because their team is abroad) but wave the flag etc as part of their public persona grate on me.

Meh

I don’t love Wiggo and I don’t hate Froome. It was great to see each of them win the TdF. If I had to pick which would be most likely to win this year I’d say Froome – who would you all pick ?

They both (currently) ride for Sky which, these days, is just another pro team albeit way better funded than most (it’s no longer any sort of credible breeding ground for British cycling IMO). The Sky management seems unable to get both to ride together, so Froome it is.

(I’m not a big fan of the Sky team – expensively assembled but boring and seemingly tactically limited. Then again I’m not a big roadie so I may be missing some of the genius of it all (and they’ve clearly won plenty “despite” that))

Anyone but Bertie™ for me but I hope there’s some old-fashioned racing along the way, rather than a 3 week powermeter contest

Which isn’t exactly going to help with the love for Froome (which is what this thread is supposedly about), not when it’s seen as him being the one who has a problem, and to be honest I’ve seen very little to suggest that’s an incorrect assessment.

jfletch » All of the noise coming out of the TdF last year was that team Sky was a much more harmonious place in 2013 than 2012.

Was that because Froome was getting his own way?

Yep, probably. And he got his own way by apparently being whiney, shit stirring and ruthless. Hence why a lot of the British public don’t like him.

But once he gets his own way he seems to be good at galvanising the team arround him, dealing with the foreign press etc. He speaks French which the French lap up.

It appears this year he hasn’t (or maybe now hadn’t) got his own way yet, hence why he was being a whiney cock bag.

It’s a shame as a result of this that Wiggo misses out on Yorkshire. Lets hope as a result Wiggo goes all gladiator on Froome and has his vengance. When Wiggo sets his mind to winning something he normally does it so he just needs a team to help him beat Sky at their own game (and a TT heavy tour that Prudhome would surley deliver if it gets him the duel)