Originally Posted by
chasm54
That's at least an argument, though most posting here haven't been expressing disapproval on the basis that he is too vocally anti-doping. He didn't "weasel out" of his contract, Sky paid Garmin a fortune. And I must say I didn't notice anyone insulting the French President, though if he'd done that I'd have expected it to endear him to an American audience. LOL. Anyway, you're entitled to your opinion. I'm just interested in how many North Americans seem to react towards him much more negatively than the Europeans - and I don't just mean the Brits.
In '06, there was no clear evidence, that was made public, that anyone was guilty of doping, yet he immediately took the position that everyone accused was guilty and thought it was brilliant that they were no longer in the Tour (interesting and poetic that he would later cry and lash out, with composure of mentally immature adolescent, when he found himself the target of doping innuendos). The '08 Astana team had entirely new personnel from the previous year, yet he reveled in their exclusion from the Tour based on the actions of people who were no longer with the team. So, my contempt of him isn't due to his
stance on doping, but rather it is his panache for
rushing to judgment (something he later whine about when applied to him) and
expressing joy at the exclusion of his peers long
before any of them are shown to be guilty of any wrong-doing or for being charged with no worng-doing at all (Astana in '08).
And maybe you're right, weaseling out of his contract with Garmin isn't the most accurate description of what transpired. More accurately, Wiggins and Sky, with the threat of legal battles,
strong-armed Garmin into releasing him from his contract. As for him insulting the French president on TV, I had just seen a snippet played on TV here (L.A., CA) during the broadcast of the Olympic TT where Wiggins referred to the French president -- now don't quote me -- as being dizzy or ditzy (I think). Wiggins was talking about his preference of being among his fans than in the company of the dizzy or ditzy French president. The comment didn't seem to go over well with the North American news anchor, nor did it seem to endear Wiggins to him; rather, it seemed as if the news anchor was shocked at the amount of disrespect displayed from such a public figure in such a public forum -- guess he's not an avid fan of cycling or of the Tour de France. Had he seen the Tour, he would have seen that Wiggins' uncouth mannerism was fairly commonplace. As far as the North American/European dichotomy: Nibali seemed far from enchanted with Wiggins; and the last time I checked, Nibali's passport was issued from some European country -- Italy, I believe. lol
I'm not sure why some people (North Americans included) express hostility towards Wiggins. I suppose they just get a sense that Wiggins is a bit of an ass or a hypocritical "c**t," even if they don't know precisely why they think that of him. And maybe they just don't feel like tapping away at their keyboards to explain to Wiggins' fans what is so clearly obvious to them. But there you have it: my explanation of my hostility towards Wiggins.