Disappointed Briton modifies season programme
Team Sky captain Bradley Wiggins has decided to shorten his season after what was a disappointing Tour de France campaign for him, and will pass over the chance to go for world championship and Commonwealth Games time trial honours.
The 30 year old Briton ended the Tour in 24th place, 39 minutes and 24 seconds adrift of the yellow jersey Alberto Contador (Astana). Last year, Wiggins was fourth, six minutes 1 second behind. Losing an additional half an hour this year shows that something was off, and the physically and mentally fatigued rider now plans to end his season in September’s Tour of Britain.
“Half the reason I wasn’t that good here was because I’ve done too much already,” Wiggins told the Guardian. “I’ve pulled out of the Commonwealth Games, and I’m not going to do the world championships, either. I need a proper break.”
The rider has had a very busy time since last year’s Tour, continuing to race until October and finishing the season later than most of his rivals. He rode the world championships, then headed to Australia and won the Jayco Herald Sun Tour.
This season he got things underway in the Tour of Qatar in February, rode the Vuelta a Andalucia, the Vuelta a Murcia, the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and then the Giro d’Italia.
He also said that mental strain of moving from Garmin to Team Sky had added to his general fatigue. “Since I finished fourth last year at the Tour it’s been almost non-stop, because of the saga that went on all through the winter,” he stated. “I just feel I need a break. The Tour of Britain will be my only other race this year, then I’ll have a proper break and start building towards next year. I’ve already thought about next year. We know what we have to do, and what we’re going to do.”
The Tour was generally a disappointment of sorts for Team Sky, which gained a wildcard invitation, was expected to ride strongly but didn’t come out with the expected results. There were highlights – Geraint Thomas was second on stage three, while Edvald Boasson Hagen was third on stages four and five. Thomas also briefly held the white jersey and sat in second overall.
However Wiggins argues that the team did well for a first-year squad. “I think considering this is our first Tour, the team have come a long way,” he stated.
Team Principal Dave Brailsford said that they would learn from mistakes and tough times, and make sure things are better next time.
“I think this has been a Tour of 100% commitment from us but also near misses and ‘what ifs’. But sometimes you learn more out of adversity than you do when everything works perfectly,” he said.
“The priority now is thinking about what we can learn from this and come back and start all over again.”
One huge plus for him was the support they got from the fans. He said arriving in Paris yesterday brought that all home to him. “The number of people who were here to support us, all the Union Jacks and all the Team Sky tops was mind-boggling,” he enthused. “There was the realisation that ‘wow, we’ve created a British team and here it is at the most iconic stage in cycling’.
“It was quite a moment in my life to be honest – it will only happen once and it was very special. I can’t thank the fans enough for all their support – they’ve been incredible and so warm towards us. That will be my abiding memory of the Tour and we are all very, very grateful.”
The Tour riders will now take a well-earned break from competition, while the team management will continue planning the rest of the season. Team Sky has a wildcard berth for the Vuelta a España and that gives the squad a chance to clock up some results there. Chris Sutton’s stage victory in the Brixia Tour plus Morris Possoni’s second overall are encouraging signs, although the lineup of the team for the Spanish Grand Tour won’t be finalised for some time yet.