The Pro Road Cycling Thread

[Shands]

Wiggins is out of the TDF.

Sir Bradley Wiggins has been ruled out of selection for the Tour de France due to an ongoing knee condition.

The 2012 champion was withdrawn from the Giro d’Italia on 18 May due to a worsening chest infection and returned home for treatment, rest, and further assessment of his knee.

During that period he was unable to train with any intensity and will not be able to compete at this month’s Criterium du Dauphine or Tour de Suisse.

Team Principal Sir Dave Brailsford confirmed on Friday: “With illness, injury and treatment Brad has gone past the point where he can be ready for the Tour de France. It’s a big loss but, given these circumstances, we won’t consider him for selection.

“He hasn’t been able to train hard since the Giro and now he needs further rest. Whilst we all know these things happen in sport, it doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a huge disappointment for everyone in the team – and above all for Brad.

‘”It’s incredibly sad to have the reigning champion at Team Sky but not lining up at the Tour. But he’s a champion, a formidable athlete and will come back winning as he has before”

Huge disappointment

Sir Bradley Wiggins said: “It’s a huge disappointment not to make the Tour. I desperately wanted be there, for the team and for all the fans along the way - but it’s not going to happen.

“I can’t train the way I need to train and I’m not going to be ready. Once you accept that, it’s almost a relief not having to worry about the injury and the race against time.

“I’ve been through this before, when I broke my collarbone, so I know how it works. I’ll get this sorted, set new goals for this season and focus on those.”

“This team has so many riders in great shape, ready for selection and we set incredible standards for performance which shouldn’t be compromised. We need to have the best chance to win.”

Team Doctor Richard Freeman, said; ““The chest infection that caused his withdrawal from the Giro has responded to treatment and rest. It has completely cleared up.

“However, further medical investigations on the knee injury that we were managing at the Giro showed the condition was more significant than we thought.

“It has needed intensive treatment and, whilst it will be fully resolved, Bradley now needs to rest completely for five days before a gradual, return to full training over a period of two to three weeks.”

 

[alib]

Wiggo now out of the Tour de France!!!

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

I'm not really a big spectator as yet but enjoy mountain biking and road cycling as and when I can get out.
I'm no great shakes in a competitive sense but commute about 60-90 miles per week.
I'm interested in getting into the Sportives after doing the M/r to Blackpool ride last year which was great.
My road bike is a new Giant Defy 1 which I got due to the great reviews it received in the Cycling press for bikes at 1k price.

Good on you mate.. I'm a pretty into my cycling at the mo and bought myself a Pinarello a few months ago, cost me a few thousand but absolutely love it! - Are you on Strava at all?

I will do a few smaller rides during the week if work isn't to busy and will do a longer ride at the weekend... Really enjoying it at the moment and is nice to get some fresh air and as an alternative to the gym all the time..

I've got a mate who bought a Defy 1 as his first road bike and so far so good, other than the tyres it came with which he thought were absolute shit as they were cheap crap that kept puncturing .. Good bike though..

I've got a charity 100K ride that i'm doing to raise money for a children's cerebral palsy charity in 2 weeks time - Any chance of a donation whilst were talking about cycling lads :P

<a class="postlink" href="https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tomchurchill1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tomchurchill1</a>

Have you been in that bike shop at the top end [Hilton] of Deansgate yet? Only sell Pinarello starting at £1k up to about £12k. There are some truly beautiful machines in there. Oh to be rich...

Today seems to be a nice day for a ride. Going to head up to Littleborough and the A58.

Over The Edge, or the Toddy route?

 

[GrumpyFrog]

My first thought was that Brailsford had now disclosed that Froomie would definitely lead at the TdF and Wiggo had thrown his toys out of the pram.

Can't think what alternative objectives Wiggo could have for this year. I don't think they were planning a serious crack at the Vuelta.

 

[manchester blue]

Good on you mate.. I'm a pretty into my cycling at the mo and bought myself a Pinarello a few months ago, cost me a few thousand but absolutely love it! - Are you on Strava at all?

I will do a few smaller rides during the week if work isn't to busy and will do a longer ride at the weekend... Really enjoying it at the moment and is nice to get some fresh air and as an alternative to the gym all the time..

I've got a mate who bought a Defy 1 as his first road bike and so far so good, other than the tyres it came with which he thought were absolute shit as they were cheap crap that kept puncturing .. Good bike though..

I've got a charity 100K ride that i'm doing to raise money for a children's cerebral palsy charity in 2 weeks time - Any chance of a donation whilst were talking about cycling lads :P

<a class="postlink" href="https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tomchurchill1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tomchurchill1</a>

Have you been in that bike shop at the top end [Hilton] of Deansgate yet? Only sell Pinarello starting at £1k up to about £12k. There are some truly beautiful machines in there. Oh to be rich...

Today seems to be a nice day for a ride. Going to head up to Littleborough and the A58.

Over The Edge, or the Toddy route?

Blackstone Edge and down into Mytholmroyd, coffee at the cafe and an assault on England's longest continuous ascent which is a damn sight easier than going up from Littleborough towards the Edge which is relentless!

 

[Shands]

My first thought was that Brailsford had now disclosed that Froomie would definitely lead at the TdF and Wiggo had thrown his toys out of the pram.

Can't think what alternative objectives Wiggo could have for this year. I don't think they were planning a serious crack at the Vuelta.

I have to admit this being a 'diplomatic solution' did cross my mind too. It's a real shame though that as the previous winner he wont be on the start line.

Even with full fitness I think he'd find this years Vuelta a real struggle, never mind coming off injuries and the season he's had. He may want to ride it as a fitness exercise ahead of next year though, because let's be honest 2013 has been all but been a complete write off for him thus far.

 

[manchester blue]

My first thought was that Brailsford had now disclosed that Froomie would definitely lead at the TdF and Wiggo had thrown his toys out of the pram.

Can't think what alternative objectives Wiggo could have for this year. I don't think they were planning a serious crack at the Vuelta.

I have to admit this being a 'diplomatic solution' did cross my mind too. It's a real shame though that as the previous winner he wont be on the start line.

Even with full fitness I think he'd find this years Vuelta a real struggle, never mind coming off injuries and the season he's had. He may want to ride it as a fitness exercise ahead of next year though, because let's be honest 2013 has been all but been a complete write off for him thus far.

It has been a write off and my first thoughts were exactly the same but with my logical head on the training has to be spot on and if he hasn't got the correct number of miles in beforehand, or cannot, then I suppose the best solution is to withdraw.

Froome will now get the TL status and after his performance last year I look forward to see him in full flow without waiting for his TL as he did a couple of times last year. That's not a criticism of Wiggins as everyone hits the wall at different points, it's just Froome made it a little too obvious when he felt fresher last time out.

A lot of pressure on him now...

 

[JOGAMIGMOG]

Can only hope that Wiggo is gutted. Those scenes on the Champs Elysee last year were immense and some of the best moments I've seen as a sports fan. If he isn't gutted and it's all because his nose is out of joint because Froome is the main man then he's a twat. Really hope it's the former though.

As for his performance in the Giro.... bad luck after bad luck soon turned into illness and injury when he realised he couldn't win. Anyone smell a rat?

 

[Churchill123]

Thanks for the comments. In terms of maintenance, I'm always cleaning the bike, wet roads and its caked in shite. There is an intermittent clicking which I'm trying to eliminate and I've had 3 punctures in 900 miles. I will probably replace them with Specialized Armadillos before winter for increased protection. Other than that I love the bike.
I'm not on Strava because I haven't got an iPhone/android phone for the app.

The intermittent clicking can be a couple of things, if you are using clip in pedals sometimes they can click and make random noises another area to look at is the bottom bracket which are notorious for clicking and although I suspect yours are sealed shimano bearings its not uncommon for theses to have issues, with £30 quids worth of tools changing a BB is a simple job, I prefer the BB 30 system on my bikes as its a 25 min job to change the bearings.

Spec Armadillos are a good winter choice also very good are Conti 4 seasons, very fast but after a full winter on cycling not a sniff of a puncture then its Conti 4000's for the summer

Michelin pro4's for me!

 

[GrumpyFrog]

Going back to Wiggo's remaining objectives for the season, I completely forgot about the TT World Champs on 25 Sep 2013 in Florence. Pretty sure this will be his prime target for the rest of the year.