Originally Posted by
Darkglasses
He must have a hell of a chest infection. Sounds more like leprosy.
In truth, I guess it shows just how important it is to be in absolutely 100% fit condition to be a contender in pro cycling. Anything less and you look a bit silly. Regardless, it was churlish of Sky to keep Wiggo on as team leader for so long. If they had switched to Uran, Henao, or even Sivtsov, their GC hopes would be much more intact right now.
Have you ever tried to train, let alone race, with a chest infection? I have. I'll never do it again. And i'm a crappy racer. The margins between the top guys are tiny, if you're not close to your best, your goose is cooked.
As for being churlish, the guy is the TdF winner, they say he has been posting the best numbers of his life, and apart from the dismal descent the day before the TT he was pretty much on schedule. If teams switched leaders every time the boss had a bad day, they'd be in a shambles. When should they have shifted? Before the TT? Uran can't TT. Immediately afterwards? Wiggo was still in pole position. It's too easy for jock-sniffers to criticise with the benefit of hindsight. Making these decisions on the road is another matter altogether.
Sheesh. I'm not even all that much of a Wiggo fan. I'd very much like to see Uran do well, he's a rider I like. But to suggest that Sky should have dumped their leader after one bad day is just amazing.