Froomey & Wiggo - The Best Double Act since Morecombe & Wise?

Hiya!
What's been going on at the Tour since I was last here?  Well, let me tell you, it's been an action packed week with drama-a-plenty.  First and worst is the positive drug test of Frank Schleck on 14th July.  Traces of Xipamide were found in this B-sample and he was immediately suspended by his team RadioShack-Nissan.  Prior to the start of the Tour Frank had been touted as one of the big pre-Tour favourites, but his performances early in the season did little to convince me that he would be a threat once the race got under way.  Under pressure to win and succeed did Frank buckle and try cheat the system?  I don't know and the only one who really knows for sure is Frank himself.  However, I do believe in innocent till proven guilty and until the case against him is proven and Frank is actually banned I, for one, shall allow him the benefit of the doubt.

Frank is not a stupid man and I cannot believe that if he intended to cheat and take the risk of ruining not only his career, but his hard won reputation, then surely there would be a far better choice of drug than Xipamide.  Xipamide is, as far as I can tell, a diuretic drug that is used in the treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure) and oedema.  This is a drug that would be unlikely to add any sort of performance-based improvement, in fact some doctors state that under duress this drug can be dangerous and even cause death.  It also has common side-effects that include cramps and muscular weakness (see both Frank banned and Xipamide) making this is a poor choice of banned substance if one is intent on cheating. 

This is a story that will no doubt run and run, but for now in the light of the current evidence I give Frank my thumbs up and hope that cycling can avoid being raked over the coals yet again.  I just hope the truth wins out and every party gets what they truly deserve.

At the Tour itself we left the Alps and hit the huge mountains of the Pyrenees - always my favourite section of the Tour, not just for the amazing beauty of the scenery, but for the excitement that always accompanies the big mountain stages.  And this year was no different.

Stage 16 saw the peleton tackling the Hors Categorie giants of the Col d'Aubisque and the Col du Tourmalet.  In 1910 Octave Lapiz (who went on to victory in Paris after a ding-dong battle with Francois Faber) made the first ascent of the massive Tourmalet and upon reaching the summit screamed to the officials checking the riders through that "vous etes tous des assassins!" - You are all murderers!  These days there is a proper road for the cyclists to ride on, as opposed to the donkey tracks that Lapiz had struggled up, but even at over 19km long and 2115m high the Tourmalet is anything but an easy ride.  In 1983, on the exact same stage (Pau to Bagneres du Luchon), Robert Millar had also famously become the first Briton to win a mountain stage of the Tour.  Would 2012 see something similar?

With HC giants behind them, by the time the riders had reached the final climb of the day, the first category Col du Peyresourde, all the riders were suffering.  After a brutal day Nibali's options from third position overall were becoming limited and with time now short he needed to make his play for the top.  Finally Nibali took his opportunity and broke away with about 4km of the climb remaining and initially opened a small gap.  But Froome never looked like letting Nibali get away and he closed down the threat with Wiggo on his wheel.  At the top of the climb the top three went over together and finished together in Bagneres du Luchon (Fig. 1).  Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar) won the day magnificently from the break away for his second win of the Tour.

Figure 1.  Nibali, Wiggins and Froome cross the line together in Bagneres du Luchon.  Photo from Team Sky

The following day, stage 17, was another monster day and perhaps more significantly, was the last chance for Nibali to make any impression on the dynamic duo.  He had to mix it up knowing that he stands to lose significant time to both Wiggins and Froome in the final time trial 2 days later.

In the event the day was won from the front by Alejandro Valverde (Team Movistar) with a fantastic solo ride.  Nibali never found the legs and struggled up the Peyresourde losing significant time to both Wiggo and Froome. 

At the bottom of the final climb Valverde had almost 7 minutes on the chasing group that included all the top names, but by the finish he just hung on to win by 11 seconds from a fast closing Chris Froome, with Brad a close third.  Fantastico!!

For me watching it was emotional.  I never thought I'd live to see a British winner of the Tour de France, but here was Wiggo making it happen right before my eyes.  Wiggo himself said afterwards, "The minute we went over the Peyresourde I knew that was it. I still felt fantastic at that point. We hit the last climb and I went on the front. I just lost concentration and started thinking a lot of things. Froomey was egging me on for more but I knew that [the riders behind] were all gone".

I could see Wiggo chatting to Froomey on the descent from the Hors Categorie Port du Bales  Nibali had struggled up the last kilometer of the Bales and Brad had clocked it.  "At that point, the first time in this whole Tour since I've led this race, I thought 'maybe I've just won the Tour'. And that's when it starts getting hard then because you lose concentration. It was an incredible feeling. It really was."

You're not wrong Brad.  It was.  An incredible feeling.

Stage 18 saw the return of the prodigal.  Mark Cavendish took the field apart in the final 600m dash winning clearly from Matt Goss (Orica Green EDGE) and green jersey holder, the ever combative, Peter Sagan of Liquigas.  It was Cav's 22nd win and puts him equal 4th on the all time list of Tour Stage Winners along with Lance Armstrong.

Figure 2.  Cav salutes another amazing win in stage 18 (Blagnac-Brive la Gaillarde).  Photo from Team Sky

Having done their share in the lead out to the line Wiggo (yellow jersey) and Froomey (at 2m 05secs) both finished close up in the peleton retaining their positions overall leaving it all to play for in the next day's time trial. 

And when that day arrived, what a day we had!

Brad was imperious.  From the get go Wiggins set the standard and in the shake down he was the only one who could stand the pace he himself had set.  Throughout the day Luis Leon Sanchez (Team Rabobank) sweated as big hitter after big hitter failed to crack his time of just over one hour and 6 minutes.  Finally Tejay Van Garderen (Team BMC) took away Luis Leon's fastest time at the first check after 14km, then came Froome faster still and finally the Wiggins whirlwind blowing everything apart.  Van Garderen then faded so that by the second check he was some 25 secs behind Sanchez.  The wind it seemed had changed direction and was now working against rather than for the riders in this part of the course.  I began to fret a bit, especially after Froome came in with his initial advantage over Sanchez whittled down to a mere 4 seconds at the second check.  But I needn't have worried.  Wiggins breezed through the check point almost a minute up on his compatriot and it was all but game over.

By the finish Froome had rallied and fair slaughtered Sanchez's long standing best time coming in 34 seconds up.  Unbelievable!  But what did Wiggins have left in the tank after an incredibly gruelling Tour?  

The bike camera following Wiggo gave us the answer as it flashed onto the bike's speedo to show 60kmh!  Wiggo wasn't just beating the rest; he was hammering them out of sight!  Young Brad sped across the line a full one minute 16 secs ahead of Froome, covering the 53.5km in an astounding 1 hr 04m 13secs at an average speed of just under 50kmh (Fig. 3).  Simply the best!

Wiggins tried in vain to explain where this spectacular ride came from.  "53km is a long way but it’s what I do best. I came out in March and looked at this course with Sean [Yates, Team Sky Sports Director]. I felt fantastic out there. The first pedal stroke in the warm-up I normally know whether I’m on it or not. I knew today the minute I rolled off that ramp that I was on a good one."  'A good one' is a slight understatement I think, but I applaud Wiggo's modesty!

 

Figure 3.  Wiggo punches the air in delight.  An amazing and historic Tour victory just 24 hours away.

 "I wouldn't say it was a lap of honour, because it hurt, but I just wanted to finish the job off in style.  There was a lot of emotion in the last 10k. Everything was going through my mind. All the years of getting to this point, my family, disappointments, crashing out the Tour last year, watching Cadel in this very position a year ago in Grenoble. I always imagined what that would feel like and now I know"

And it must feel amazing.  At home I was sobbing quietly hoping the Missus wouldn't come in and change the channel!  Wiggo continued.....


"I was thinking about my wife and children, my grandfather, my nan, my mother. That was just spurring me on with every pedal stroke.  It sounds cheesy but you work your whole life to get to this point – it’s a defining moment in your life. From the minute I got into cycling as a kid it’s all summed up for today."

And a defining moment in my life too and I thank you Bradley Wiggins for giving it to me.  You were my hero before....now, to call you a superhero seems inappropriate, but that is surely what you have become!

Congratulations on making history!

P XX

Our Man in Yellow.

Hey!

Young Brad has distinguished himself again.  In yesterday's unbelievably beautiful stage of Le Tour from Albertville to La Toussuire in the Alps Wiggo once again did the biz, coming in 6th on what was perhaps the toughest day of this years Tour.  Revelations came thick and fast as the riders began the long climb up the final ramp from St Jean de Maurienne up to the finish line at La Toussuire some 1705m above sea level.  After having already survived the gigantic hors-categorie climbs of the Col de la Madeleine and the Col de la Croix de Fer, Wiggo always looked comfortable and in good shape so that as the peleton hit the foot of the final climb I felt confident that his yellow jersey would remain intact.  With team-mates Porte, Rogers, Froome, Boassen-Hagan and Knees around him Team Sky's position was incredibly strong.  Little did we know that by the end of the climb that position would not only be enhanced, it may well prove to unassailable.

Frenchman Pierre Rolland (Team Europcar) eventually went on to win the stage with a fantastic performance that delighted the home crowds.  But Rolland is not a challenger for the overall title and whilst he was gaining the plaudits of his countrymen the real drama was still on the mountain.  The big surprise of the day, for me at least, was that Cadel Evans and last years Tour winner, cracked about half-way up the final climb leaving Wiggo with Froome (3rd place overnight) and Nibali (4th place) for company among one or two others.  As Evans fell further and further behind, eventually losing almost a minute and a half (a huge chunk of time at this level), Wiggo spurred on perhaps, barring mishaps, putting in a performance that may well prove to be the decisive examination of this years Tour.

As the kilometers slid painfully by for Evans, Chris Froome led Wiggo and Vincenzo Nibali up the endless 18kms of this long, long climb until about 4k from the finish when he burst out of what remained of the peleton to illicit a bone-crushing attack that immediately had the rest in trouble, Wiggo included.  As Froome moved away from the elite group, perhaps looking for the stage victory - I think had he been allowed to go he may well have caught Rolland, but now we will never know - he was suddenly seen clutching his hand to the side of his head.  "Wiggo's in trouble!" or something like that must have come over the team radio.  "Go back and support your leader!"

'In trouble,' might be a bit strong, but Wiggo had definitely been unable to match the amazing acceleration exhibited by Froome, but ever the professional Froome reined in and slid inexorably back into the elite peleton and pulled Wiggo up and over the final ramp of the climb before losing out in sprint finish for second place on the day to Tibot Pinot of Francais de Jeux.  Wiggo came over the line a second or two behind Froomey and history had been made.  He became the first Briton to wear yellow for 4 days in a row, an amazing achievement on a day that also saw Froome move up into 2nd position, just over 2 minutes behind Wiggo, with Nibali a further 20 seconds or so behind in 3rd.

Team Sky in first and second.  Britain in first and second.  What would the odds have been of this happening before the Tour started.  You just have look down the 'predictions' of the pundits and experts to realise that this was not a scenario that too many of them had anticipated.  Wiggo had been most people's favourite for the Tour given his winning performances in both the Paris-Nice Classic in March and the Criterium du Dauphine last month, but very few had tipped Froome to back Wiggo up quite as impressively as he has despite his second place overall in last years Vuelta de Espana.

Froome leads Wiggo up the final climb to La Toussuire (photo from Sky Sports)

For me Froome has been a revelation and must surely be a strong contender for the overall title next year.  But he will still be at Team Sky then?  For a team to have 2 leaders is unheard of and Froome must be entitled to have the support of a team of his own given his performances.  This is not a scenario I would relish however.  Team Sky is predominantly a British based team, with British team management, British sponsorship and I would love to have Froomey stay put.  But will he feel the same when he reflects on his performances after the Tour is over?

But for now, I'm just floating on a patriotic cloud.  Wiggo has been a hero of mine for many a year.  To be honest I never thought he had in him to become the climber he has undoubtedly become, but he has happily proved me wrong and has shown the dedication, the strength and the qualities of a true Champion whilst remaining true to himself and keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground, a fact brought home to me yesterday as he crossed the line together with Nibali, both their faces etched with the pain and agony of the stage, so that when Wiggo reached across to his Italian rival and embraced him I had the feeling of watching a man who had not only done what no other Briton has ever done, but has done it in a style of his own making, and done it with no sense of superiority about him, just a sense of his own ability and a firm, unshakable belief in himself and that this is his year.

Well done Wiggo.

P XXXXX