# Wiggo?



## gh1 (Jun 7, 2008)

Curious as to what others think about his chances this year. Last year he was the new sensation but I havent seen anything from him this year that would look remotely like good form. So is he laying low and good to go or just going to round out the top 10 or lower?


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

gh1 said:


> Curious as to what others think about his chances this year. Last year he was the new sensation but I havent seen anything from him this year that would look remotely like good form. So is he laying low and good to go or just going to round out the top 10 or lower?


His chances of what? Winning? No way. 

I think if a take-no-prisoners fight breaks out among Armstrong, Contador, Schleck, and maybe Basso, he'd be lucky to get top 10 this year. I'd expect to see some of the domestiques for those guys, like Leiphiemer, Kloden, and (shock) Vino fill out the top ten. No room for pretenders.


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## pianopiano (Jun 4, 2005)

mohair_chair said:


> His chances of what? Winning? No way.
> 
> I think if a take-no-prisoners fight breaks out among Armstrong, Contador, Schleck, and maybe Basso, he'd be lucky to get top 10 this year. I'd expect to see some of the domestiques for those guys, like Leiphiemer, Kloden, and (shock) Vino fill out the top ten. No room for pretenders.


It's interesting when you start to look closely at the names and think about how this Tour is really packed with talent. For the first time in a long time,everyone seems fit, healthy, and able to race. I think that it will be an exciting Tour to follow this year. (although I always say that)

Due to that wealth of top talent, I'm putting Wiggo around 5th to 9th overall this year.:thumbsup:


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

DM dead meat


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

Wiggins has had a quiet year, perhaps due to some bad luck and maybe his Giro was just a sandbagging effort. I'll be surprised if he makes the top 10, though. I believe that Boasson Hagan and Gerrans will get the most Sky press back in the homeland.


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## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

He'll be lucky to crack the top 10.


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## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

Yep, I think he'll be top...mmm 25 at least, but I don't think he'll crack top 10.
(While Vaughters rubs his hands and says "See?! Ya never shoulda left!")


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## Kaleo (Jun 15, 2008)

Like Piano said there is such a deep field of talent top contenders to fill the first ten spots, it's hard to Wiggins in there. Cadel will have big George and Ballan did well in the Italian Nationals, speaking of Italians, they're hungry for Tour winner, with Basso, Sastre, Cunego, Petacchi, Lance and company including Horner who looked good earlier, and LL may be very fit, of course Vino and "finger bang", and sheesh the Schlecks may have something to say about it, yup not a lot of wiggo room at the top...


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## moabbiker (Sep 11, 2002)

This years tour just doesn't suit him. The short TT, while he may do very well on and potentially dominate amongst the GC field,. will only gain him very little time when you think about the massive time that will be lost on the uphill finishes. Top 10? Maybe, on the edge of it. He's certainly been saving energy, looking like he was testing his attacks in the Giro against Basso.

Top 10 really depends a lot on Radioshack, whether Levi, Horner, Kloeden will be allowed to fly free or sacrificed to nurse LA.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

Who finishes higher in GC: Wiggo or CVV?


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## AdamM (Jul 9, 2008)

> Who finishes higher in GC: Wiggo or CVV?


Wiggo.


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## Piles (Jun 25, 2004)

Wiggo.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

it's gotta be CVV.


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## mtbbmet (Apr 2, 2005)

CVV, by a minimum of 5 minutes.
Edited to add....
Hesjedal will finish in front of wiggo.


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## albert owen (Jul 7, 2008)

Last year LA was gentled onto the podium by his team. Contador just dawdled along at the front with Andy Schleck able to take 2nd inspite of doing virtually nothing of note.
Wiggins benefitted from being in this uncompetitive and boring TdF and having a good TTT. He took 4th just by desperately hanging on to Armstrong. 

This year the TdF will be a race and he will struggle to make the Top 20.


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## baker921 (Jul 20, 2007)

Kaleo said:


> Like Piano said there is such a deep field of talent top contenders to fill the first ten spots, it's hard to Wiggins in there. Cadel will have big George and Ballan did well in the Italian Nationals, speaking of Italians, they're hungry for Tour winner, with Basso, Sastre, Cunego, *Petacchi*, Lance and company including Horner who looked good earlier, and LL may be very fit, of course Vino and "finger bang", and sheesh the Schlecks may have something to say about it, yup not a lot of wiggo room at the top...


Petacchi!!!!!! If Petacchi wins TdF the whole Forum will end up in the Doping Forum.


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

baker921 said:


> Petacchi!!!!!! If Petacchi wins TdF the whole Forum will end up in the Doping Forum.


Petacchi is this year's Wiggo!


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

albert owen said:


> This year the TdF will be a race and he will struggle to make the Top 20.


That I disagree with. I think Top 20 easy (if he avoids crashes/illness obviously). Top 10, probably. Top 5, unlikely. Podium highly unlikely.

Again, the real interesting thing is if he finishes ahead of CVV or behind him. Will Garmin try for revenge if they can (like against HTC and Hincappie)?


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## tconrady (May 1, 2007)

Wiggo will be top 15 and perhaps will crack the top 10 but he won't really be a threat. He wasn't really a marked man last year and was able to sneak up to the placing he had. It'll be a totally different game for him this year as every move he makes will be watched closely and countered....just like all the real contenders.


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

Coolhand said:


> Will Garmin try for revenge if they can (like against HTC and Hincappie)?


The revenge motive just isn't there. Yes, Wiggo left Garmin but it's not like he has exactly torn up the peleton since he's been with Sky. In fact, he's been mostly silent. In the meantime, Garmin bought low, sold high, and got a boatload of cash for a guy who would have been gone in a few months, anyway.


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## Frith (Oct 3, 2002)

*thread revisit??*

I can't wait to bring this thread back in a few weeks time. 
Wiggins will be one of the many contenders this year. The only problem for him is that this is a talent rich year and the heroics he showed last year that netted him a top 5 finish will only be enough for a top 10 this year.
He's hardly a slouch though. He'll be better prepared and I can only see one or two stages where he loses any major time. There are going to be plenty of opportunities for him to draw some of that back. People are acting like they're doing away with the time trial completely. They aren't. In fact both of this years ITT's suit wiggins better than last year's.
He won't make the podium and will have trouble making top 5 but a top 10 finish this year will be a real feat and he'll do that with little problem. 6th or 7th is my guess.
Christian Vandevelde though.... not so much.


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## The Moontrane (Nov 28, 2005)

Frith said:


> I can't wait to bring this thread back in a few weeks time.
> Wiggins will be one of the many contenders this year. The only problem for him is that this is a talent rich year and the heroics he showed last year that netted him a top 5 finish will only be enough for a top 10 this year.
> He's hardly a slouch though. He'll be better prepared and I can only see one or two stages where he loses any major time. There are going to be plenty of opportunities for him to draw some of that back. People are acting like they're doing away with the time trial completely. They aren't. In fact both of this years ITT's suit wiggins better than last year's.
> He won't make the podium and will have trouble making top 5 but a top 10 finish this year will be a real feat and he'll do that with little problem. 6th or 7th is my guess.
> Christian Vandevelde though.... not so much.


Buck up, buddy, I've got Wiggins in third.


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## saird (Aug 19, 2008)

Just hope his team doesn't crack around him


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

moonmoth said:


> The revenge motive just isn't there. Yes, Wiggo left Garmin but it's not like he has exactly torn up the peleton since he's been with Sky. In fact, he's been mostly silent. In the meantime, Garmin bought low, sold high, and got a boatload of cash for a guy who would have been gone in a few months, anyway.


You sure, sideburn boy seemed rather put out. Plus some of Wiggos comments were somewhat barbed in regard to the differences in his new team. I think they wouldn't hesitate to even some scores ala George. 

/should make for some fun.


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## Italophile (Jun 11, 2004)

I see Wiggo in the top six.

He is very strong, Andy Schleck is way less than 100% (Fränk may finish ahead of Andy), and the Shack domestiques will have to annihilate themselves to crush Astana and keep the Old Drooping Lance near the top five. CVV? Uh-uh, Zabriskie is a better rider now, but not as good as Wiggins. Cunego isn't going to beat Wiggo, nor is Sastre with back trouble and a weak team, HTC-Columbia has a strong team, but Mick Rogers ain't on no TdF podia and Tony Martin is still too young.

...And who is saying Petacchi? Cut that out!

Wiggo in 5th or 6th, behind Contador, Basso, Evans, Menchov, maybe Lance.


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## Red Sox Junkie (Sep 15, 2005)

I just don't see him up in the top ten. It's a climbing tour and I don't think his climbing is up to par with a lot of the other riders. I think 4th is the best tour he will ever ride. People are talking Andy Schlek's form being bad. Wiggo is not looking any better. I could see these people finishing higher than Wiggo:
AC
Basso
Lance
Vino
F Schlek
A Schlek
Levi
evans
Menchov
Sastre
That is 10 there and I'm sure there will be a couple of surprises as well. Now watch him podium!


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

Gesink
Kreuziger
Kloeden


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## shomyoface (Nov 24, 2007)

Red Sox Junkie said:


> I just don't see him up in the top ten. It's a climbing tour and I don't think his climbing is up to par with a lot of the other riders. I think 4th is the best tour he will ever ride. People are talking Andy Schlek's form being bad. Wiggo is not looking any better. I could see these people finishing higher than Wiggo:
> AC
> Basso
> Lance
> ...


You make an interesting point, but didn't all (except Vino and Basso) ride last year? Wiggin's has the Brailsford trump card this year - we'll see,


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

But last year wasn't a hard Tour as far as climbing is concerned. Wiggins could lose minutes on the stage finishing on top of the Tourmalet alone...


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## shomyoface (Nov 24, 2007)

Wiggo has proven his ability to race the cobbles/classics with a top 25 Roubaix finish. AC, Schleck's, Sastre, Menchov etc have not - they could potentially be out of contention during the echelon packed stage 1 and the cobbles of stage 3. We'll see - I'm hoping week 1 will be as decisive as the mountains.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

shomyoface said:


> Wiggo has proven his ability to race the cobbles/classics with a top 25 Roubaix finish. AC, Schleck's, Sastre, Menchov etc have not - they could potentially be out of contention during the echelon packed stage 1 and the cobbles of stage 3. We'll see - I'm hoping week 1 will be as decisive as the mountains.


this is fun. Remind us how wiggins did last time a GT was in the Netherlands?


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## Red Sox Junkie (Sep 15, 2005)

Dan Gerous said:


> But last year wasn't a hard Tour as far as climbing is concerned. Wiggins could lose minutes on the stage finishing on top of the Tourmalet alone...


That was my thought. Not many TT kms this year and the mountains are harder than last year. Wiggo was holding on for dear life on some of those climbs last year and I can see him pop on a climb or two and lose big time. Shomyoface makes a good point that he is better on the cobbles than the climbers but I question Wiggo's team's ability to deliver him to the front during either stage. One thing is for certain, it will be good racing!


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## albert owen (Jul 7, 2008)

77th. Only needs to climb 57 places over the next three weeks to beat my prediction for him. Go Wiggo!


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## gamara (May 20, 2002)

Uuhhh Ohh. Just comparing his time trial performance to last year, it doesn't look good. And this was after the team switched his start time after studying the weather forecast.


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## cq20 (Mar 24, 2007)

Not too good at all. The gamble to switch to an early start didn't pay off. The weather actually got better and the roads were drying out when the later starters were on their way. Win some - lose some.


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## Kaleo (Jun 15, 2008)

Yup, I don't think this was the impression Wiggo wanted to make at the start this TdF, but he did do better then the Schlecks...


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## gh1 (Jun 7, 2008)

Went back and dug this up. From Wiggo's comments it sounds very much like he cant handle the pressure of being a team leader. Saying he was fluke, etc. Jeez, he just imploded this year.


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## paredown (Oct 18, 2006)

This year's Tour was much harder--driven by the Schleck-Contador rivalry, and exacerbated by the difficult route and the extraordinarily hot weather...

It would be easy to feel defeated--but there was no shame in this Tour for Wiggo...

He should HTFU and continue riding--his ride in the ITT shows he still has talent...

(Oh, and maybe the ugly jerseys--black!!!--in 90+ heat--who could be so stupid?--didn't help)


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

also shows giro now too hard to combine with Tour - Sastre, Evan, Basso, Wiggins, all faded


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## gh1 (Jun 7, 2008)

Frith said:


> I can't wait to bring this thread back in a few weeks time.
> Wiggins will be one of the many contenders this year. The only problem for him is that this is a talent rich year and the heroics he showed last year that netted him a top 5 finish will only be enough for a top 10 this year.
> He's hardly a slouch though. He'll be better prepared and I can only see one or two stages where he loses any major time. There are going to be plenty of opportunities for him to draw some of that back. People are acting like they're doing away with the time trial completely. They aren't. In fact both of this years ITT's suit wiggins better than last year's.
> He won't make the podium and will have trouble making top 5 but a top 10 finish this year will be a real feat and he'll do that with little problem. 6th or 7th is my guess.
> Christian Vandevelde though.... not so much.


Oh, and by the way. Feel free to revisit this now.


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## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

paredown said:


> ...(Oh, and maybe the ugly jerseys--black!!!--in 90+ heat--who could be so stupid?--didn't help)


I've said this before- if they had any sense they would have applied to ASO for an exception and done a "reverse" jersey like Cervelo did last year.
That said, the British cycling mags fall all over themselves praising the "clean and simple" design, likening it to a tuxedo...  
Dunno 'bout y'all, but if it's 95 degrees out, I ain't racing in no black tuxedo! :lol:


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

RRRoubaix said:


> Dunno 'bout y'all, but if it's 95 degrees out, I ain't racing in no black tuxedo! :lol:


I'm surprised the rider's didn't object - then again, the sponsor may have 'loved it', so they'd be screwed anyway.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

if it's treated with 'coldblack' technology then it'd be about as cool as a white jersey


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## albert owen (Jul 7, 2008)

albert owen said:


> This year the TdF will be a race and he will struggle to make the Top 20.


Told you so :thumbsup:


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