OK so England didn’t do so well in the football and Andy Murray couldn’t quite pull off his challenge against Federer, but behind the scenes what could be the greatest sporting victory for the English since 1966 is quietly taking place.
Cycling enthusiasts will know what I am talking about of course, others perhaps not.
Never in the history of the Tour de France has an Englishman even been placed in the first three of the Tour de France, let alone come first – but this year it is becoming a possibility.
Now I’m probably prejudiced but would say that the Tour de France is the toughest mainstream sporting event in the world, and winning it is an achievement of monumental proportions. Winning the Tour without drug induced assistance even more so – and I think we can be confident that Bradley Wiggins is ‘drug free’.
To people who suggested he was cheating he said “I say they’re just f*****g w*****s. I cannot be doing with people like that. It justifies their own bone-idleness because they can’t ever imagine applying themselves to do anything in their lives.”
A pretty emphatic denial then, although cynics might say that emphatic denials come from the guilty (eg Floyd Landis) as often as the inncocent. Anyway I’m convinced and that’s what counts for me.
Of course, whether he has accidentally eaten a beef sandwich containing microscopic traces of a banned substance is harder to predict – and that is why Contador is absent with a two year ban this year (unfairly IMO), which certainly won’t be hurting Bradley’s chances of victory.
It’s all still to play for with almost two weeks still to go but if Bradley can still be ahead at the end of tomorrow’s (12th July) stage with its finish on a mountain summit, there is a good chance that he can win overall. (This isn’t certain, he looked a bit shaky at the end of the last mountain finish when he was outrun by his team mate Chris Froome.)
Anyway even if you have no interest in cycling, if you thought that Wimbledon was nail-biting take a look at the Tour de France over the next couple of days and you’ll be gripped…
…and if you think the professionals like Bradley make it look easy, dust off your old bike and go find a mountain to ride up. It will take about 30 seconds to realise how hard it is and about 30 seconds more before you want to give up!
PS If Bradley can’t win or you want to support someone French they also have one of their most promising cyclists in a long time, Sylvain Chavanel, who is doing a great job so far.
Living in France, it makes me proud to be watching the Tour unfold on Sky tv!
I don’t have sky but its better on French TV than English – there are far less advert interruptions on the French version!
I thought the Tour was just one big advert!
GO Bradley GO!
Froome has shown he is the better rider but Team Sky’s only focus is an Englishman winning the Tour de France. Andy Murray is a Brit when he wins and a Scott when he loses – similarly David Millar. Of course, Froome is a Brit when he is being obedient but I think he has now reverted to being a Kenyan. Wiggins is the best shot for the English result even if he is nursed by a Kenyan and 2 Australians (to say nothing of the non-English as key staff). Wiggins obviously is a very powerful man within that organisation as was Lance Armstong when he was around. Lance was the boss and so is Wiggins. It would be nice for once to see the best man win. Also, amusing that the WAGS are taking to Twitter with a vengence when we have just gone through a week a (by Wiggins and Sky) of slamming the twitterverse.
It’s quite entertaining to see that Froome is probably better than Wiggins and van Garderen might well be better than Evans for BMC but both the youngsters have to hang back to look after their leaders. Apart from that looks pretty much like Bradley will win unless he falls off in the Pyrenees.
WAGS = wives and girlfriends?
Yes, wives and girlfriends. There are interesting days ahead for Sky after the TdF – Froome will have to go and I can’t see Cavandish hanging around if he has to play second fiddle to Wiggins for another season. I for one find it an unpleasant sight to see Cavandish playing water boy. I also think that Froome and Cav have found in each other a sympathetic ear – Cav always has a quiet word with him when he delivers the bottles. Having said all that Froome signed up to be a domestique (however super) and he will just have to honour that.
I’m hoping that in the Pyrenees Nibali makes a decent breakaway and Sky have no choice but to let Wiggins and Froome go after him, so we can see who is really best in the mountains.
I think there is a huge difference between Team Sky’s hopes for Bradley and Mark and they know that yellow comes first this year. Unlike M. Green, I think it’s very pleasant that the ‘stars’ take their turn in being the water boy. I hope it all goes well for Paris.
It was good to see Bradley leading his team mate out for the sprint today, a very impressive effort.
I found this edition of the Tour de France very symbolic.
If Thomas Voeckler livened up the competition, trying unlikely breakaways with panache and daily pugnacity, the English champion just killed the suspense from the first week. No flavour, on TV I just saw a sad effort manager, a dowdy accountant avoiding taking any risks and fleeing unscheduled feat. And behind him, a grey performing well-oiled machinery, without any face, unbeatable, hardened to any scenarios, even sacrifices of better competitors in the team.
No suspense, no enthusiasm, just the flat unreeling of a passive strategic music score. Rainy times in France.
I prefer the editions with colours, jumbled cheerings, heatwaves, surprises, and Gallic mess.
There is a place for both – the great individual efforts of Voeckler are very impressive and add a lot of excitement but that individual approach will never win the tour as a whole. Also you are forgetting the efforts of Wiggins to lead out Cavendish on later sprint days, which were a formidable sight. But yes, there were less surprises and individual moments of glory that we like to see.
It would have been nice to see more challenges and breaks, but nobody could manage it because of the high pace set by the Sky team – so hardly reason to call Wiggins and the Sky team boring for just getting on with the job – at the end of the day Wiggins and Froome were just stronger and better prepared than anyone else.
Would things have been different if Contador and Andy Schleck were in the race? Perhaps, perhaps not. Hopefully we will find out next year…
What on earth has Wiggins done to you Roman? Or is it just that you hate all Englishmen who are successful in sport?
The Sky team was set up this year to support a win by Wiggins. Cavendish was a supporting rider with plenty of opportunity to win stages and increase his total of tour stage wins. Cav is the best current roadman-sprinter but he will never win the tour, he can neither climb nor time trial. Froome has what it takes to win the tour and has perhaps build a sufficient reputation this year to be given the opportunity.
Best climbers do not always win and on the last major climb and in the final time trial Wiggins proved to be strongest.
Nobody can win the tour on his own, it’s always a team effort. In times past the winning team leader did not take a centime of the prize money, it was ALL shared among the team members as thanks. I’m not sure how it works today.
The best man did win – best team leader, best time trialist and a more than adequate climber – exactly the skills required.
Riders without a chance of overall victory have always been allowed freedom to make a name for themselves and Thomas Voeckler is good at making the most of any opportunity. This is not new in the tour, in the 1950s an English (sorry Romain) rider won a stage by 20 minutes but still did not win the tour. This was in the days before radio contact with riders and just in case it wasn’t a fluke he was never in subsequent tours allowed the same freedom.
Roll on TDF 2013 with (hopefully Schleck and Contador).