Tour vs Olympics

[citoyen]

OK, so now the TdF 2011 is over, we can start speculating about TdF 2012.

Chris Boardman reckons that Wiggo, "at this stage of his career", should concentrate on the Tour. Brailsford clearly reckons the Olympics are the priority.

Can he do both? The Team Pursuit is ten days after the Tour finishes. Sean Yates reckons that's too close. Maybe if he wants to do the Olympics, he could go for the Giro instead? Or maybe he should focus on the Olympic road race rather than the track events?

I think I agree with Boardman. The Olympics is fine for young, up-and-coming riders and track specialists like Hoy, but surely the one-day classics and Grand Tours are the pinnacle for top road riders like Wiggo?

For that matter, I think Geraint Thomas and Ben Swift should focus on the Tour rather than the Olympics. In fact, I think the Olympics should revert to the old rule of being for amateurs only.

d.

[mattc]

Which option will stop him moaning about free tickets for his family?

[Wowbagger]

I share Bradley Wiggins' dilemma.

I'm really struggling, vis-à-vis the 2012 Olympics or Tour de France, which one to ignore the most.

[citoyen]

Thank you for your contributions to this thread.

d.

[JT]

Thank you for your contributions to this thread.

d.

+1

IMHO Wiggins should forget the track completely now that the Individual Pursuit is no longer an Olympic event.

However, with a home Olympics and British Cycling due to get their funding cut, I'd expect the guys that pay the wages will decide that populist gold medals trump confusing foreign road races. The beauty of the Sky/British Cycling partnership is that it's the same guys paying the wages whatever happens.

[mattc]

Thank you for your contributions to this thread.

Oh OK ...

For a pro-roadie, you've got to put the Tour first, AOTBE. However ...

Is he gonna get on the podium? If not, and there is a pursuit team that needs him for gold, then that might be the better option - it IS only 4yearly, and it's in the UK.

[Jasmine]

How much of the decision is his?  I thought that if his team (Sky) say he's doing the TdF, he's doing the TdF.

I suppose the decision is quite imminent too, at least on his personal level.

I'd like to see him at the Olympics because he's got a really good chance of winning.  I'm not convinced he could *win* the TdF, but if he doesn't try then he'll never know.

I think a few riders will do TdF plus road race and see it as another race to go to.  I don't see Bradley as being likely to win the Olympic road race if he's concentrating on being a 3 week tour rider.

Summary - I don't know 

[Honest John]

The Tour matters.

The Olympics don't.

[Redlight]

His team pay his wages, the Olympics don't.

It's a bit like when the national football team managers bleat about players not being available for matches. The players owe their first loyalty to their employers.

[Psychler]

Doesn't the same conundrum apply to Cav as well, perhaps even more so.

[JT]

Doesn't the same conundrum apply to Cav as well, perhaps even more so.

No. Typically Cav gets better as the Tour goes on and as he would only be riding the road race, a week after the Tour, he should have good form.

[Tim]

I can't see much need for him in the Olympic roadrace - that just needs to be a train for Cav (with a bit of firepower to ensure a break doesn't spoil the party) and that can be achieved without him. The course is just not designed for his riding. Who contributes to dragging Cav halfway down the Mall before he nips off into the distance with 200m left though I'm not sure. Actually who is dragging Cav round Copenhagan, could be the same crew as that?

Olympic track - this is more of a poser. Whether the track team can do without him is a different matter, however with the rules about number of competitors from the same country and the limited number of events there is going to be competition enough that if he's not specifically training for the track he may not add much by being on a bike (he could always take a non-competitive role during the event). The talk of targetting riders for single events to the detriment of even other track riding doesn't sit with him spending the season concentrating on his road riding and I can't see him spending next year as a dedicated track rider.

[JT]

His team pay his wages, the Olympics don't.

It's a bit like when the national football team managers bleat about players not being available for matches. The players owe their first loyalty to their employers.

Same difference. Team Sky = Sky+British Cycling. Team GB = British Cycling+sky.

BC call the shots. Sky are only in cycling to "soften" their image so if anything they will be more keen for gold medals than road success.

[Karla]

I believe Wiggo was considering the olympic road TT, wasn't he?  This would seem to suit him better and is also four days after the road race, on August 1st rather than July 28th.  Or remind me, is there only one competitor allowed from each country and has David Millar bagged that spot?

[Tim]

For some reason my brain had discounted the TT. Yes that would probably sit better and could be done alongside the TdF.

[JT]

I believe Wiggo was considering the olympic road TT, wasn't he?  This would seem to suit him better and is also four days after the road race, on August 1st rather than July 28th.  Or remind me, is there only one competitor allowed from each country and has David Millar bagged that spot?

Pretty sure David Millar has a BOC life ban for his doping offence.

If not Wiggins, it will be Dowsett. Only one rider per country per event (apart from team events, natch).

[Wowbagger]

I share Bradley Wiggins' dilemma.

I'm really struggling, vis-à-vis the 2012 Olympics or Tour de France, which one to ignore the most.

Actually, to be fair, some days this year I have watched the 3-minute potted highlights of the Tour, but I cannot muster the enthusiasm, despite the wonderful scenery, to sit watching an entire stage, or even part of a stage. I generally want to be getting on with something else.

[citoyen]

I'd like to see him at the Olympics because he's got a really good chance of winning.  I'm not convinced he could *win* the TdF, but if he doesn't try then he'll never know.

I'm convinced he could have won the TdF this year. Too many variables to make any meaningful predictions at this stage about next year, but I definitely wouldn't rule it out.

d.

[citoyen]

Team Sky = Sky+British Cycling. Team GB = British Cycling+sky.

BC call the shots.

Would he be contractually obliged to ride the Olympics if Brailsford told him to? Surely what he does for BC on the track is on different terms to what he does for "Team Sky" in the pro races?

Probably academic, tbh. I don't imagine anyone could force him to take part in an event he didn't want to do, but on the other hand, Brailsford could say fine, you ride the TdF but we won't provide a team to support your ambitions.

d.

[Karla]

I'd like to see him at the Olympics because he's got a really good chance of winning.  I'm not convinced he could *win* the TdF, but if he doesn't try then he'll never know.

I'm convinced he could have won the TdF this year. Too many variables to make any meaningful predictions at this stage about next year, but I definitely wouldn't rule it out.

d.

I predict that after a couple of seriously hilly years, Le Tour 2012 will be less steep with more km of TTing.  That should suit Wiggo fine, he could be on the money if he's fit again next year.

[Doosh]

Hasn't he already done his bit for the Olympic team over the years? He's not going to have too many more genuine cracks at the TDF for him to waste his time on the Olympics, and lets be honest, Olympic cycling isn't exactly the pinnacle of the sport is it?

If it were me I'd be doing the tour and leaving the door open for a young and upcoming cyclist to fill my place in the GB team.

[Honest John]

His team pay his wages, the Olympics don't.

And, in road cycling, the Olympics don't matter. The top riders are those who win the grand tours, the classics and the worlds each year, not the ones who go in for the Olympics once in four years.

[gonzo]

And, in road cycling, the Olympics don't matter. The top riders are those who win the grand tours, the classics and the worlds each year, not the ones who go in for the Olympics once in four years.

I wouldn't say that. There was some serious competition to win the Olympics last time and Sammy S still wears the gold helmet while Fab still has hints of gold on his TT bike.

To me, Wiggo didn't seem to be that excited by the Olympics last time. Could just be my perception though.

[Honest John]

And, in road cycling, the Olympics don't matter. The top riders are those who win the grand tours, the classics and the worlds each year, not the ones who go in for the Olympics once in four years.

I wouldn't say that. There was some serious competition to win the Olympics last time and Sammy S still wears the gold helmet while Fab still has hints of gold on his TT bike.

To me, Wiggo didn't seem to be that excited by the Olympics last time. Could just be my perception though.

Could that be because the Olympics is just a minor, ceremonial event, rather than a real, heart-hitting competition, so far as cycling is concerned?

[Rig of Jarkness]

Could that be because the Olympics is just a minor, ceremonial event, rather than a real, heart-hitting competition, so far as cycling is concerned?

Exactly.  It's the riders themselves that make the race.  What makes the Tour of Flanders or the World Championships or the TdF so special is that all of the top riders for the event really, really want to win it.  By contrast, since its introduction a few Olympiads ago, the men's road race has been seen as just a nice to have.  Yes there will be a few very much wanting to win it but they won't be facing the same level of competition as for the top races.

I sense that this does not apply for the women's Olympic road race.