Interesting Grand Tour choice from Sky

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

If it is true that Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome are skipping the Giro for the Tour then it seems an odd decision.

Egan Bernal is clearly a quality rider but he is also very young for the role of Giro team leader if he is expected to win rather than just gain experience.

Who is riding the Vuelta doesn't seem to have been disclosed yet.

With Sky withdrawing I would have thought the team would want to present itself with as broad an appeal as possible rather than this is a TdF winning team and nothing else.

Sure the TdF gets the most TV and press coverage, but this is concentrated over a few weeks, Quick Step (floors), another well funded team, has less grand tour success but more year round success and exposure.

So is there a new sponsor that is likely to want to come in and be obligated to do lots of races but only really care about the TdF? This does seem unlikely and with McLaren Bahrain Merida possibly being the coolest team especially if they run McLaren road cars as team cars during the TdF then the press could easily concentrate on them.

So can we conclude that a new sponsor has already been found, the team doesn't want to alter their routine to impress a new sponsor or that they don't believe that there is a sponsor available?

Bye

Ian

 

[Joffey]

I thought it was the only sensible and obvious way forward. Bernal doing the Giro makes sense. Thomas & Froome won't give up The Tour or do the Giro as it will damage their chances.

I'm not sure what you think they could / should do differently for 2019. They could come away with 2 Grand Tours this year, that wouldn't be bad advertisement for a sponsor.

 

[MikeG]

..........If it is true that Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome are skipping the Giro for the Tour then it seems an odd decision..........

Why? It is notoriously difficult to be competitive in 2 grand tours in a year. Froome has been a bit of a freak doing this the last few years, but at 34 he is having to start managing his workload a bit better, and with 4 TdF wins, he clearly wants to give himself the best possible chance of winning a historic fifth. Geraint Thomas is the current TdF champion, so why wouldn't he ride it again? Sky obviously think Bernal is capable of winning the Giro. Seems quite an obvious decision to me.

 

[Milkfloat]

Seems obvious to me, plus they leave their options open for the Vuelta. It may be that they have an agreement that whomever ends up supporting in the TdF gets the nod as leader in the Vuelta. As far as most sponsors go, I suspect that the TdF is the only thing they know about cycling and certainly it is they primary focus.

 

[mjr]

I would expect a good showing from Bernard (thanks autocorrect) would convince sponsors that they've a future grand tour winner imminent and possibly get them a longer deal than relying on two current champions in their mid thirties.

 

[roadrash]

^^^^^Wot they sed^^^^^

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good afternoon,

Interesting answers as they are mostly centered around what the individual riders want, rather that what is in the best interests of the team.

I am an F1 fan and in F1 there is the idea that you are being paid and if you are told to do something then you will do it, Ferrari in particular are ruthless about this but Mercedes do it as well.

So either GT or CF would be told you are riding the Giro and not the TdF, by the time of the Veulta any new sponsor would probably have decided yeah or neah and Bernal could ride the that as the team leader.

Egan Bernal will be in his second season as a pro and there have been Giro winners at 20(F. Copi) and a few at 21 and 22, but he will be going up against amongst others Simon Yates who has won the Vuelta and almost won the Giro. So a good ride is likely but I would have thought any expectation that he would win is overly optimistic, especially as I would expect that the very best domestiques to not be riding or told to consider their form for the TdF.

Yes, I can see the attraction of offering a future star in Bernal, but is he contracted or can he leave at the end of this season?

By allowing both GT and CF to ride the TdF the team seems to be creating the impression that the riders call the shots and one or possibly both will decide to leave if they don't get their way with the new owners. Whilst they both may have contracts with Sky but if the new owner can not honour them they may be free to leave.

Bye

Ian

 

[roadrash]

bernal is signed with sky for five years , what happens with sky pulling out , I don't know

 

[mjr]

Interesting answers as they are mostly centered around what the individual riders want, rather that what is in the best interests of the team.

I am an F1 fan and in F1 there is the idea that you are being paid and if you are told to do something then you will do it, Ferrari in particular are ruthless about this but Mercedes do it as well.

My answer wasn't, but even so, no F1 team has ever told a driver to sit out a whole competition or enter in support of another when they've been unwilling, have they? It seems a very different management situation, with only 2 drivers per team competing in 21 essentially one-stage rounds (debatably two or more stages with qualifying), compared to 28 riders per team competing in 38 sometimes-simultaneous rounds including 17 multi-stage ones (of which 3 are 21-stages). It looks clear to me that the team has much more power in F1 than WT because the shortage of driver seats and stages is much bigger than the supply of drivers, even before we start considering what looks like reduced competitiveness that saw only the top three teams win in 2018 F1 compared to all of at least the top ten winning in 2018 WT.

Yes, I can see the attraction of offering a future star in Bernal, but is he contracted or can he leave at the end of this season?

Contracted until 2023, which is another reason I think a Bernal leader might help attract sponsors even if he's only top 5 this year. https://www.teamsky.com/article/egan-bernal-signs-new-five-year-contract

By allowing both GT and CF to ride the TdF the team seems to be creating the impression that the riders call the shots and one or possibly both will decide to leave if they don't get their way with the new owners. Whilst they both may have contracts with Sky but if the new owner can not honour them they may be free to leave.

I don't feel it looks that way: GT seemed to be saying in interviews that he wanted to go for the Giro again because he sees it as "unfinished business" ( https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/oct/30/geraint-thomas-tour-de-france for example) and it would make more sense to me than him going back to the tour alongside CF again (GT seems unlikely to challenge any of the TdF records now but could still become a triple crown or other great feats, while CF could still win a fifth TdF, possibly more) but GT backpedalled soon after that, possibly after being told team orders.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

If they are going to promote the team to a new sponsor they need to show they have a depth a talent beyond Chris Froome and .Geraint Thomas. The Giro will be a good showcase without those two. Indeed showcasing the talent of riders with longer terms remaining on their contracts.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good evening,

My answer wasn't, but even so, no F1 team has ever told a driver to sit out a whole competition or enter in support of another when they've been unwilling, have they?

Both Mercedes with Valteri Bottas and Ferrari with Kimi Raaikonen established them as 2nd priority within the team after only a couple of races during the 2018 series. So yes it was go to the races and be 2nd to your team mate.

...Contracted until 2023, which is another reason...

[QUOTE="YukonBoy, post: 5489753, member: 17213"....The Giro will be a good showcase without those two. Indeed showcasing the talent of riders with longer terms remaining on their contracts.[/QUOTE]

These contracts may only be valid if the new sponsor can honour the terms within them, given that Sky seemed to have double the budget of everybody else this may be an issue

I appreciate that Sky was established to provide a British TdF winner, but surely that has been achieved and the next sponsor needs something to justify their involvement beyond the current riders' ambitions.

Good evening

Bye

Ian

 

[rich p]

Geraint making it clear again that intends doing the TdF and not the Giro.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ger...e-giro-ditalia-despite-pinarello-speculation/
I suspect that Froome would strongly prefer to be sole leader at the tour and his recent comments that the Giro would suit Thomas, and that he has unfinished business there, is more than a little disingenuous.

 

[Adam4868]

I'm sure G would prefer a second Tour win,but barring something to take Froome out,he's going to be riding for him.I don't buy all.that let the road decide ! Froome is using these early races,Columbia the UAE as training/PR.Hes desperate to win that 5th tour !

 

[rich p]

I'm sure G would prefer a second Tour win,but barring something to take Froome out,he's going to be riding for him.I don't buy all.that let the road decide ! Froome is using these early races,Columbia the UAE as training/PR.Hes desperate to win that 5th tour !

Isn't that what we thought last year ?
Not doing the Giro is different prep, I agree.
In some ways it would be good for Thomas to do the Giro but there are shades of Wiggins in insisting that he wants to defend his title.

 

[Adam4868]

Yea i agree,i guess the Tour is the one though so to speak.The elusive,make me a "icon" is what Froome and Brailsford want though.Maybe its Daves last chance aswell ? Not taking anything away from Thomas but it all worked out well with PR with Froome not winning it last year.Or is that me being to cycnical ? Anyways all this talk of let the road decide,best man win.Sky follow orders and if Froomes on form,cant see the team not riding for him.