2014 Pro-cycling season thread

Was it as spectacular as Tom putting him the gutter on the Boonenberg in 2012?

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/videozone/archief/MG_sportnieuws/MG_wielrennen/1.1230056

Was it as spectacular as Tom putting him the gutter on the Boonenberg in 2012?

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/videozone/archief/MG_sportnieuws/MG_wielrennen/1.1230056

Lol remember that. Scuse me, just coming thr...oh ok, maybe not I'll just get off here then.

Loads of riders didn't show up for the sign in today so it's naughty step and early sign in for the worst offenders tomorrow

Just catching up on Roma Maxima.

It has something of a hustle about it with it's steep back streets and erratic Fiats. You can smell the Italy.

Phinney on his arse again, as well as Fararr. Who was red kit bloke hitting the gutter before the finish?

Meersman not starting.

OPQS twitter.

Is Meersman just sulking because he got the time penalty?

No, he's got bruising to his pelvis and lower back and has damaged his wrist. If he was sulking he'd have quit last night, not waited until this morning to see how the injuries were.

I have to say I'm getting a bit fed up with Wiggins. From TdF winner to riding for Richie Porte in T-A. Froome's injured, then leave Porte where he is and ask Wiggins to show some fucking balls and ride for the GC, instead of being a super-dom targeting the TTT and ITT.

He's starting to look like Cobo, and that's not a favourable comparison.

Isn't that a bit dramatic Jimmy?

Isn't that a bit dramatic Jimmy?

Have you not read any of Jimmy's posts before?

Wiggins early season focus is on Paris-Roubaix and he's carrying somewhere between 6-7 kgs more weight than when he won the Tour, so that makes it very difficult for him to suddenly switch to GC mode.

He could shave his 'burns'.

Isn't that a bit dramatic Jimmy?

Going from top GC Grand Tour rider to second fiddle to Richie Porte in two years? Seems a pretty severe fall from grace. Cadel's still slugging it out in GC terms, Wiggins seems happy to pull on the front on a flat stage, disappears when it gets hilly and abandons if it's raining and he has to go downhill. He basically seems to have reverted to treading water in the peloton and then popping up to win the odd ITT, much like he was before his breakout in the 2009 TdF, when suddenly he's a contender.

Wiggins early season focus is on Paris-Roubaix and he's carrying somewhere between 6-7 kgs more weight than when he won the Tour, so that makes it very difficult for him to suddenly switch to GC mode.

Are you sure about Paris-Roubaix? I know he's talked about it but I'm not sure, he pulled out of Gent - Wevelgem and Dwars door Vlaanderen and is riding Catalonia instead, and for no particular reason dropped out of Strada.

Jimmy comparing Wiggins to Cobo is basically tantamount to accusing him of doping. I just don't believe that is the case - what he would stand to lose, and BC's approach etc etc. It's a dead end as far as I'm concerned.

It's not hard to see why he won the tour that year - parcours, lack of opposition (that wasn't riding for him), blah blah. That tour route was pretty much built for him (perhaps that's a better outlet for conspiracy theories and wild supposition than drawing a line between him and Cobo?). He gave up everything for that year, made history and has flapped about ever since - to be perfectly honest given his palmares , nature and the wealth of GC talent Sky have, i'm not surprised.

It would've been much more out of character if Wiggins had a good year last year. He's consistently had a bad year the year after he's achieved a major objective throughout his career.

Anyway, he won the fucking Tour, he can do what he wants.

Jimmy you seem to know cycling. But you're making some massive oversights re wiggins ability.

He won the tour due to the favourable parcours. He's heavier now and not an out and out climber. He'd not have a hope at GC again in a climbing race. He knows that. Cadel is an out and out GC rider and can climb, but can't TT with the best.
To attempt to race for GC by wiggins would be a disservice to the team and the other members riding for him.

He's in a place and doing his job with his ability put to its best use.
He's goals have changed or developed. He's won the bloody tour and now wants a classic or a TT world title and another track gold.

The final few kms winding round that race track on Paris-Nice today would have been great fun, well jel

Jimmy comparing Wiggins to Cobo is basically tantamount to accusing him of doping. I just don't believe that is the case - what he would stand to lose, and BC's approach etc etc. It's a dead end as far as I'm concerned.

It's not hard to see why he won the tour that year - parcours, lack of opposition (that wasn't riding for him), blah blah. That tour route was pretty much built for him (perhaps that's a better outlet for conspiracy theories and wild supposition than drawing a line between him and Cobo?). He gave up everything for that year, made history and has flapped about ever since - to be perfectly honest given his palmares , nature and the wealth of GC talent Sky have, i'm not surprised.

Although Cobo is strongly suspected of doping to win the 2011 Vuelta, there is as much evidence against him as there is Wiggins. Its more the blatent lack of ambition I was getting at. He won the TdF and that seems to be enough for him, a bit like his various post-Olympic malaises, where more than once he crawled inside of a bottle rather than focusing on training. He seems to have boom and bust seasons, and this should be a boom one but so far it would seem to be another underwhelming one. I just find him disappointing really, which he had Cadel's mental fortitude rather than this tendency to shrink from his role, which should be as the ambassador for British cycling.

Jimmy you seem to know cycling. But you're making some massive oversights re wiggins ability.

He won the tour due to the favourable parcours. He's heavier now and not an out and out climber. He'd not have a hope at GC again in a climbing race. He knows that. Cadel is an out and out GC rider and can climb, but can't TT with the best.
To attempt to race for GC by wiggins would be a disservice to the team and the other members riding for him.

He's in a place and doing his job with his ability put to its best use.
He's goals have changed or developed. He's won the bloody tour and now wants a classic or a TT world title and another track gold.

The whole 'he won the tour because of a favourable parcours and lack of strong opposition' frankly bores me, it was still a ridiculously tough race. On top of that TdF win he was winning most of the stages races going, he was the best climber that year apart from Froome and generally was the finest GC rider out there. Nibali is no push over remember. That came after a 2011 that saw him win the Dauphine ahead of Cadel who went onto win the Tour and a third place in the Vuelta. He is a very talented rider physically, it's just he gets the yips and has a tendency to reach for the bottle when it gets touch, possibly a gift from his father. As for changes in focus, I get the impression he has no idea what he wants and Sky are struggling to work out what to do with him. I seriously doubt he will make the Sky Tour team this year.

Wow. Okay. Out.

It would've been much more out of character if Wiggins had a good year last year. He's consistently had a bad year the year after he's achieved a major objective throughout his career.

Anyway, he won the fucking Tour, he can do what he wants.

You have a point, but it still disappoints. I have a hard time warming to Froome, would really love to have Wiggins back in his 2011/2012 form, smashing it up everywhere.

Wow. Okay. Out.

I wasn't having a go, it's just I have heard that so many times. I'm saying all of this as someone who would dearly love Wiggins to be competitive and winning things, not working as a domestique.