Brailsford convinced Briton would have shone in mountains
Although Bradley Wiggins originally stated that he would almost certainly give the 2012 Tour de France a miss to prepare for the Olympics, the Sky Procycling rider recently indicated he was likely to compete in the French race again next season.
Team coach Shane Sutton has indicated that this is indeed likely, saying that the rider and the team will seek to get over their disappointment of Wiggins’ crashing out of the Tour de France by looking to the 2012 race.
“He was in really good form,” Sutton told Eurosport after the race. “Hopefully we can repeat that next season, and come back and do it bigger and better than this year.
Sky team principal Dave Brailsford had similar big hopes, particularly after the rider’s win in the Critérium du Dauphiné, and is convinced he would have done something big had he not broken his collarbone.
“It is hugely disappointing news for him, and for the team. Bradley has been in the best shape of his life and worked exceptionally hard to be ready for this year’s Tour de France. We were in no doubt as to the form he was in. Brad was climbing with the best climbers, time trialling with the best time trialers and, once the race hit the mountains, we were very confident that he was going to challenge for the overall. Unfortunately crashes happen in bike races.
Both he and Sutton are refocusing on what can be achieved with the riders that are left. “It has happened and we have to move forward from that. It’s pretty devastating to all the team to come to the race with that sort of form. But we have got another eight guys we need to support for the next two weeks,” said the latter.
“We will rethink our strategy and obviously try to look more to stage wins. We have some good quality bike riders in there, Boasson Hagen, and the depth in there…Thomas and Uran, Swift…some good sprinters. We will look to the tougher rolling days now and try to pick up something out of that.”
The team landed its first-ever Tour stage win on Thursday when Edvald Boasson Hagen was quickest in the sprint to Lisieux. The Norwegian and team-mate Geraint Thomas both lost time on Friday, finishing in a group three minutes and six seconds back and dropping away from first and second overall in the best young rider classification.
It was a cruel twist after the highs of Thursday, but the team will now reassess, readjust and reload.