Wiggins to miss Tdf again...

[vorsprung]

..and Wiggo may have had a wry smile as Talansky wins the Dauphine, with Froome finishing 5 minutes down and out of the top ten

The winner of the Dauphine is often the winner of the TdF so to lose emphatically is not a good sign for Froome

[Nuncio]

The winner of the Dauphine is often the winner of the TdF

Not really. Only 5 times in 33 years (or 3 in 31 if you ignore the void results).

[trekker12]

I haven't seen it but Froome is saying his fall had a significant impact (excuse the pun) on his performance and five minutes is probably a sign he eased off the gas knowing he wasn't going to win. If you haven't got he form to compete and want to not use too much energy then it really doesn't matter if you lose by one minute or five

[Frank9755]

What happened to Wiggins in the TT at the Tour of Switzerland?  Looks like he had a mare but not seen any reason anywhere.

[spesh]

What happened to Wiggins in the TT at the Tour of Switzerland?  Looks like he had a mare but not seen any reason anywhere.

He placed only 14th in Stage 1, losing over 30 seconds to Tony Martin on a lumpy 9.4 km course, which has made some people elsewhere wonder where his Tour of California form has gone, and whether he was soft-pedalling as a yuck foo to Team Sky management. Finished safely in the bunch yesterday.

The TdS is a bit back-loaded, though, so it's worth waiting until the time trial on Friday to see if he's motivated or not.

[spesh]

And he lost more time on today's stage, dropping back to nearly 3 minutes behind the race leader on the GC. Going by what the Telegraph have posted, it looks like Wiggo's been training for the track and not the road lately.

Wiggins told the Dutch newspaper Brabants Dagblad before the start of Monday’s stage that he would have been better prepared had he not been training on the track in recent weeks.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/bradley-wiggins/10904361/Sir-Bradley-Wiggins-chances-of-competing-in-Tour-de-France-recede-with-average-showing-in-Switzerland.html

In the meantime, Team Sky put the best gloss on Wiggo spending the latter part of the race sat at the back of the peloton.

“Everybody played their part today but it was unfortunate the Bradley [Wiggins] lost time and he’s out of the general classification hunt now. The road was really twisty at the end and the fact he was at the back of the peloton meant he was on the wrong side of the late splits. It would have been nice to have him there but now he can focus on the time trial on Friday whilst helping the other guys as much as possible.”

http://www.teamsky.com/article/0,27290,17553_9351117,00.html

[TimC]

I get the feeling he's having a 'why should I bother?' moment! If Sky don't believe in him, and he's looking at other priorities now (the Commies, World TT Champs, another team), I can quite understand why he might look after his own interests and not Sky's.

What's the betting he rides a stormer at the final TT after doing nothing for the rest of the week?

[Frank9755]

...with a hangover!

[andyoxon]

It's confirmed...  http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/28052516  Wonder when he'll make a move.

[TimC]

I think he'll wait till after the World TT Champs. As Sky sponsor the GB team, which he wants to be part of in Rio 2016, I don't think he'll want to piss them off by leaving too early. And I've no doubt there's lots of thought and discussion to be done yet!

[LEE]

Jezuz H Christ ...Wiggo just won the British TT Championship with 26 miles in 53 mins 56 secs.

That's 29 mph !!! (46.5km/hr)

I may stand a chance if it was all downhill.

[trekker12]

SPOILER!

[bobb]

I was selected for TdF last week, then they pulled me last night. Wiggo, Dowsett, Pete, Swifty, fancy a city break? I hear York's nice.

That's quite a few British riders not going to France!

[TimC]

They'd make a hell of a wildcard team!

[bobb]

Might spice up the Commonwealth Games with that lot available!

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

It was probable Wiggins wasn't in the TdF squad once the Tour of Romandie team was announced without him. Orica's DS made positive noises about having Wiggo on his team, and I suspect he might fit in a bit better there. His days as a GC leader are probably over, but I could see him filling a Jens Voigt-type role (as a character rather than riding style). Brailsford obviously has to put his eggs in Froome's basket, and Wiggo would be a source of tension and potentially conflict which Sky can do without. I don't see a role for Brad at Sky now, and I wouldn't be surprised if he leaves within a month or two.

Edit: Doh; I meant Criterium Dauphiné, not Tour of Romandie!

Hope he is kicking himself right now!