reef58

You didn't see all of the hand gestures waving Wiggins to the front? He was clearly mocking him. I consider that low class.

Talldog

You are correct in that team dynamics is absolutely necessary to win the TDF. And such teamwork requires that there is a team leader for the GC who will be supported by the rest of the team acting in their capacity as domestiques. Froome was hired as a domestique to support Wiggin's quest for the yellow jersey and that is what he is doing. That is the basis of his contract and follows current team strategies as decided upon earlier. That being said, I think the bone of contention is not an understanding of stage racing tactics, but merely a question of whether Sky has underestinmated who their strongest stage racer is. As it now stands, it looks like Froome could have won the Vuelta (IIRC) for Sky and probably this year's TDF had he been designated the team leader in both events. Wiggins did not deliver in the Vuelta and has benefitted to no end from Froome in the TDF mountain stages. This begs the question, i.e, could Wiggins win without Froome and could Froome win for Sky with or without Wiggins. And shouldn't your strongest rider, from a team dynamics point of view, be your leader, thereby giving the team the greatest chance of success, not only in this TDF but all other stage races as well. In hindsight it has worked out well for Sky in this TDF with Wiggins as the leader, but knowing that Froome was stronger in the high mountains and nearly equal in the TT, they also ran the risk of a repeat of the Vuelta failure. So it really is not a question of "personal competition" within the race itself but more a larger question of initially structuring your team to provide the best foundation for winning races.

It will be interesting to see what Froome's reward will be down the road. No doubt Sky will be back to defend the title next year. But it could get interesting to see how they structure the team. I don't believe s team should keep a strong potential TDF yellow jersey contender in the role of super domestique for too long. How they hndle the situation will no doubt prove interesting.

gsteinb

Do you know what cracked hard even means? You don't "crack hard" and then take third on the stage. Yes he couldn't maintain the pace that Froome was setting, but he wasn't about the lose minutes.

gsteinb

he was waving him back up to his wheel saying he was staying with him.

reef58

Evans cracked hard, Wiggins he could not match the pace, but he did not crack.

reef58

Okay

daveF

Exactly, and Wiggins confirmed this in his post stage interview. But, it did look a little over exuberant.

Rhinelander

when you get 30 yds on the guy whos on yer wheel in 6/7 strokes... means the cat cracked.... in his defence, (after Froome waivin' and yelling at him, he made a remarkable recovery within 30 to 40 seconds (great focus from Wiggins) to regain composure and restart his rhythm...

gsteinb

you don't recover if you cracked. you're not using the word correctly.

reshp1

Wiggins quote
Um, you're not on the Champs yet... and if your head's in the clouds maybe you should let your teammate who's actually still racing grab some individual and team glory, you know the one that dragged you through the mountains the last two weeks?

work4bike

I wasn't really psyched up for this year's Tour, but after seeing the dynamics in the Sky team I can't wait for next year's Tour. It's not clear in my mind who is the strongest GC rider for the tour, since Wiggins is so strong in the ITT, but then again Fromme isn't far behind. Fromme is clearly stronger in the mountains, but we just don't know how much stronger, that's the question. Is his strength in the mountains enough to make-up for his relative weakness in the ITT?

Talldog

And it looks like Wiggo held Froome back from another stage win today. Apparently Wiggo was delirious or something, or so he said, and couldn't/wouldn't let Froome go. Poor Froome, he could have caught Valverde for the Stage and all without jeopardizing Wiggo's time gap (except over 2nd, LOL).

cmsuter

Sky has successfully sucked every ounce of excitement out of this race. Froome has worked his ass off through the mountains for wiggins, and he clearly had the ability to atleast challenge Valverde this stage. Why not give him a little bit of freedom as a reward for his efforts and loyalty? Wiggins has already won the tour because of Froome's restraint, and there was no way that he was going to gain enough time this stage to challenge Wiggins anyways. From a spectator's point of view, Froome going free at the end of this stage would have been the most exciting effort in the entire three weeks of racing, but instead it turned out to be yet another anti-climatic stage further cementing this tour as the most boring race in it's history. I am officially a Froome fan as well as an avid Sky hater.

Rhinelander

ok, cracking in the old days meant in its most simple form "experiencing a weak spot or period" from which some may recover (some not). Example: in the early days Bartali could crack Coppi with repeated accelerations until Coppi learned to ride his pace and in return crack Bartali. Of course the dimensions of team-trains and domestiques didn't exist to the same degree as today. Point is: I feel that if Froome would have gone on and left Wiggins, the latter could have suffered a far more severe crack than he was able to overcome (and most certainly because of Froome's help).

gsteinb

has any one actually said that froome was ordered to stay with wiggins then? it seemed to me he made a choice, but I have no idea.

byhsu

I share your thoughts exactly. Hope they do the Vuelta and Froome wins it this time.

Rhinelander

wonder what they've got left in em after the Olympics... mentally and physically

the foyster

yes froome is the better rider.i thought we would have to wait a long time to find a more boring winner has cadel evans but we have he's called bradley

cycle17

Froome could have and should have won today's stage. Wiggins was in no danger in those last few kilometers, he had teammates in the peloton, Nibali was shot, Evans is a non-factor, and Froome only finished 19 seconds back after waiting at least twice for his "leader"... this will be Wiggins' only TDF win, so he better enjoy it. This was the most boring TDF GC wise in quite a while. There should have been some direction from his team to pull the cord and let him go get Valverde for the stage, Wiggins should have ordered him to go get it, but instead he could barely stay on Froome's wheel. It was pathetic honestly... Hope next year is better.

Laggard

Your first post and all you can offer is this load of crap?

Laggard

Did your cat 5 license also include a free lobotomy?

HokuLoa

I saw no "mocking." What I did see was an opportunity to take the stage and a bit of indecisive confusion over what to do. We don't know what decisions (or lack thereof) played into that outcome though. Wiggins seemed to want to launch Froome into a win or at least take some time collectively on Nibali. Wiggins did not need to take a pull and yet he took a long one that clearly put him in a bit of hurt. Seemed a lot to me that he was trying to break Nibali off and launch Froome to a victory (with no real effect on the GC necessarily). The question is what played into Froome sitting up and letting the stage win go? Was it team decision based on the gap, crowd, and risk to MAYBE get the win? Was it the anticipation of needing Wiggins to work with him? Or was it the realization that if he failed to take the win and jut took time out of Wiggins it would be a press/PR nightmare?

Who knows but Froome, Wiggins, and Sky...? Loads of possibilities and most of them purely pragmatic and laudable. I highly doubt Wiggins would have taken that primary long pull to gap Nibali if he didn't plan at least in part to give Froome a launch at the win...

fly:yes/land:no

lol @michellecound (froome's girlfriend) tweeting her rage. highlights of the last 6 hours:

isn't she precious?

HokuLoa

I see what you are saying but consider the team perspective of not just winning but of getting the best placements overall. Assume for a second that Froome and Wiggins are the two best GC potentials (pre race). Also assume that looking at the course Sky knows Wiggins can win with Froome's assistance and likely allow Froome a podium spot as well. However, if they also think Wiggins cannot successfully pull Froome through the mountains without dropping off the podium himself then why risk having Froome lead if the final result is only one podium rider? If best overall podium placement is the goal then over any given course the team decisions necessarily shift to best accommodate that goal. When your team has the top GC riders then sometimes it appears (and may actually be) that your top overall rider is playing domestique to secure more podium space for the team.

Of course sometimes that doesn't play out as planned and the risk is not rewarded. However if Froome was not contracted for and committed to that role and was riding as leader on another team (or as supported by Wiggins) would he necessarily be in the position he is in now individually or as a member of a team poised to take 1 and 2?

HokuLoa

Ugh, what a burden and PITA social media must be for riders and their teams these days. "uh honey, would you mind terribly staying off twitter until the end of the race? Cheers for the enthusiasm though..."