http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kimmage-unconvinced-by-sky-and-wiggins
What took you so long to state the obvious, not that there is anything wrong with it.
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Kimmage chimes in........
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No kidding. Sky rode EXACTLY like Postal. I suspect there is some bad schiite going on on that team and then they have the nerve to fire anyone with the guts to fess up to their past wrongs.
"There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time."
Malcolm X -
UK Postal. Lots of PR beards just like the old days. Tricky helmets, secret training spots and constantly telling anybody that will listen that you team is the only one that prepares. The tell will be when Sky hires Allen Lim and Carmichael
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I'd like to think he is wrong.....I'd like to see some actual evidence rather than strong performances on the bike and suspicions.
But there are certainly things in life that make you go "Hmmmmm....."
Just say "NO!!" to WCP!
"Want to get faster? Work harder, eat better, cut the crap. Instead of talking the talk, work the work" -
I am going to give them the benefit for ONE year. IF the team dominates like that again this year...than I will pull a "c'mon son" on 'em.
It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. -
I am lovin your "C'mon son"s! So I do hope you find reason to raise an eyebrow, Keith.
I also find Wiggins' behavior -aggressively villifying anyone who dares hint that he or sky might be dirty- very reminiscent of a certain former tdf winner who shall go nameless but whose initials are lance armstrong.
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I'm with Keith. I mean if doping really was of minimal impact last year, perhaps it makes sense that one team with all the money and top riders dominate. There was never any real flaw with Postal et al tactics. If there was no doping those tactics work. The fact that Wiggins stopped racing after the Olympics and Froome wasn't as good at the Vuelta may say something. We can hope. I do think that the sport has turned a corner where the dopers will be the ones that are shunned as opposed to what had been the way.
Lance who?? -
I agree that it raised some eyebrows, but given the course and the lack of serious competition, I will give them a pass. Lets see what happens this year.
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I think Andy and J-Z's posts could have been lifted directly from the post Festina era when Postal had won its first tour. Problem is we have learned that the "we have turned a corner" believers have consistently proven to be delusional. So regardless of how articulate and erudite Sir Wiggo is, I aint buying it. fool me once...
And then there was the '12 vuelta which could only have been ridden the way it was with some serious blood manipulation, IMO. Valverde, Rodriguez, and Contador bludgeoning eachother repeatedly (and to the great entertainment of fans like me) up 15-20% climbs day after day just doesnt happen with at least some assisted recovery juice if not more aggressive blood boosting. So...... I'm just saying in all likelihood the sport is still dirty. Shocker right?
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All I'll say is that this year's tour wasn't terribly exciting. The Postal etc. years weren't either safe for the initial Armstrong-Ulrich battles. If they were doping Wiggo, the least they could do for us spectators is make him fly up hills.
But British track cycling has gotten awfully dominant as well and their soccer teams are on par with Spain. A national conspiracy? The Ole Games tend to do that (see eg Barca games).
Hmmmmmmmmmm.
The wise man said follow me...and he walked behind. -
Fair comment stronz. Fair comment. I think the difference though is today's young riders seem to be actually speaking out against doping whereas (as far as I recall) post Festina riders were not really speaking out against it. Another difference perhaps is that teams are now having issues obtaining sponsorship partly due to doping and partly economic but I don't think post Festina that that was as much of an issue.
There has been what five riders over the years that dominated the tour (and other races). Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Indurain and him. What I am getting at is that there are often "dynasties" in racing and indeed in most other sports. That in itself does not mean doping. I think that Indurain was the first rider to really focus on the tour and others learned from that and the sport became more specialized.
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A combination of factors played into Wiggo winning the Tour.
He had no competition in the time trials.
His team dictated tempo in the mountains to the point of nullifying attacks.
No other rider was strong enough to press an attack and make it stick. The one rider who could have taken signifigant time out of him in the mountains was one of his domestiques.
Other teams become complacent, because it makes life easier when someone else takes responsibility for controlling the pace and answering whatever attacks are thrown at them.
The peloton is full of cats who either just want to finish, or want to consolidate a top twenty position so they could make some cash on the lucrative post-Tour criterium circuit.
These are riders who are thinking about making enough money to open up a café or a bike shop in their home towns when they retire, so it's not fair to expect them to be too concerned with chasing glory for the sheer sake of sport.
Sky didn't necessarily need a team-wide doping program to have succeeded in winning the Tour with a rider who has absolutely no panache in the mountains. But rest assured he is a one-trick pony, and will never podium at a grand tour again in his life.
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Berzin, Contador, the rider who has the potential to to be a big problem for the Wiggins/Sky train was not there. With him there, everything would have been different. I would fully expect the Sky train to disintegrate to just Froome on the tough climbs. Froome can put real time on AC in TTs. But if Froome showed any weakness ever on the road, watch out.
Because AC was not there, the Wiggins/Sky train could work. (The course helped a lot.)
Ben
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Like Ben suggested, an AC at the TdF may have changed things a bit. though as we saw at the Vuelta it too Alberto a little while to 'find' his A game. He certainly understands race dynamics, strategy, and positioning better than most.
Like KR, I'll give Sky a pass for this year. It wasn't like they were an instant one-hit wonder. They have clearly been bulding the team and training for this over many years.
And Froome's "demise" in the Vuelta was more a personal embarassment, and perhaps galctic justice, for his bragadocious commentaries at the TdF. Given that few riders are able to acheive top-3 finishes in any two grand tours a year hs results were not surprising nor indicative of TdF blood boosting. However, he may have suffered from having less 'medical rest' durring the Vuelta hence his slow fade in the last week.
JP
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And the Which Hunt continues...
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