Sky TdF team...

[Dogtrousers]

Pinot has been a favourite of mine ever since he first appeared, because my sister used to have a dog called Thibaut. Well, the dog was actually called Thibeaux, but it's pronounced the same and I don't suppose he[1] could spell. I included him[2] in my fantasy TdF team last year on this basis, which in retrospect wasn't a stroke of genius.

[1] The dog, not Pinot. I'm sure Pinot is perfectly literate.
[2] Pinot, not the dog. The dog is dead now. And could never have reached the pedals when alive.

 

[JBGooner]

I guess Sky will go after stage wins now?

 

[Roscoe]

Did they not try that in the Giro and manage only one?

 

[KennaughKickIt]

What a remarkable change in fortunes. Froome's bad luck aside this was a pretty poor team given their resources. Another poor showing today, I wonder if they'd have been better supporting GT instead, could have avoided those crashes and carried better health into the mountains. Hard to see them getting a single race victory this tour.

 

[jowwy]

Im a big richie porte fan, but hes not a GT rider/winner, hes a super domestique and superb at that.

Maybe now sky will realise their mistake of not picking wiggo and before you all start jumping around and saying yeh but this and yeh but that.

Sky are taking both him and froome to the vuelta, so why on earth did theh both not go to the tdf. As soon as froome got injured and retired the rce, they should have released the shackles of the G man and let the likes of him and mikael nieve attack and go for stage wins

 

[Hont]

What a remarkable change in fortunes.

Entirely predictable, and predicted, after Froome's crash. They got what they deserved IMHO when they let Froome effectively pick the team.

 

[Hont]

Did they not try that in the Giro and manage only one?

You're half right. They won ziltch in the Giro.

They had based all of their planning around a particular rider and when events conspired to rule him out, they had no viable plan B.

Sound familiar?

 

[cd365]

Brailsford's Midas touch is ending?

 

[laurence]

no one discussing Saxo's plan B then?

 

[SWSteve]

On a Sky Thread?

 

[laurence]

oh yes, stupid me, i forgot sky fanboys only look at their team.

i was making a reference to that there is much talk of sky not having a plan b, yet the other big treams don't either.

 

[jowwy]

oh yes, stupid me, i forgot sky fanboys only look at their team.

i was making a reference to that there is much talk of sky not having a plan b, yet the other big treams don't either.

But this is the team sky tdf thread, not the overall tdf thread.

If you want to discuss saxo, astana, katusha, garmin etc. Get your own thread or discuss it on the tdf thread

 

[Hont]

i was making a reference to that there is much talk of sky not having a plan b, yet the other big treams don't either.

Not true. Belkin took Ten Dam and Mollema. Lampre have Horner and Rui Costa. Degonkolb is plan B for Kittel. I'm sure Saxo would have taken Kreuziger if he'd been (*cough*) available. Quintana was plan B for Movistar last year.

But ignoring all that, the point is that Sky was the only team that left a healthy, keen to ride, in-form (British) genuine GC contender at home. In fact judging by Kennaugh's result in Austria, they left two.

 

[400bhp]

Im a big richie porte fan, but hes not a GT rider/winner, hes a super domestique and superb at that.

Maybe now sky will realise their mistake of not picking wiggo and before you all start jumping around and saying yeh but this and yeh but that.

Sky are taking both him and froome to the vuelta, so why on earth did theh both not go to the tdf. As soon as froome got injured and retired the rce, they should have released the shackles of the G man and let the likes of him and mikael nieve attack and go for stage wins

Agree.

The issue with Sky to me seems their over reliance on method and no allowance for feel.

Power/efficiency/extra 10% etc etc. No place for gut feel. They have clearly used the same winning formula used on the track.

It was a monumental mistake leaving Wiggins out of the tour. Not just for the result but because of the good PR Sky would have got which will be part of their equations.

Look at today's stage. About as perfect for Wiggins going uphill as it can get.

 

[tug benson]

will folk stop going on about Wiggins..it was raining when they done stage 5 at the tour, Wiggins would not have got of the team bus when he saw the rain. sir Dave knows Wiggins better than anybody in cycling and he couldn't trust him, that tells you everything you need to know about Wiggins