Team Sky has announced a team which is geared toward a tilt at delivering Bradley Wiggins to Paris in yellow. Mark Cavendish has his right hand man Bernie Eisel as his main support but several riders who will be crucial in providing support to Wiggins in the mountains can also lend a hand on the flat stages. Whether Sky can balance their yellow and green jersey ambitions will be a curious subplot throughout July.
Wiggins looks to be well protected in the mountains with the two Australians, Porte and Rogers as well as the Vuelta runner up from 2011 Chris Froome. Team Sky will still look to take home the yellow and green jerseys, but whether the blue Sky team can take yellow and make the green jersey reality, remains to be seen. The likelihood of Boasson Hagen chasing stages wins looks to be limited in 2012 with a repeat performance of his stage wins in 2011 unlikely. His role will be as support for both Wiggins and Cavendish as a super domestique and thus won't be as free to join breakaways. Wiggins and Cavendish will be the two most likely sources of Sky stage wins but with Rogers in the team, as a three time ITT world champion, he may take a surprise TT win. Froome and Porte in the mountains may snare a sneaky win as well if their GC ambitions look pale.
There is no doubt that Wiggins goes into the 2012 Tour as a major favourite, possible even as ‘the’ favourite and his Sky team has been built primarily around this favouritism. And rightly so. Cavendish may feel marginalised at times throughout the Tour but he has shown he is capable of winning stages by himself and that he can get by without relying upon a big lead out train. Eisel is the key man for Cav if he is to defend the green jersey from last year as he will be the one Sky rider totally at Cav’s disposal. Wiggins on the other hand has the support of the rest of team and baring a serious crash an ascent onto the podium looks more than likely. However his main rival Cadel Evans looks to have that little bit more of support than Wiggins as well as the knowledge that he has win the Tour where Wiggins has only ever stood on one Grand Tour podium.
Wiggins ambition is clear and his form suggests that 2012 could finally be the year an Englishman wins the Tour. If this is to be Wiggins year, he will need to overcome the possibility of a fractured team if Cavendish starts winning multiple stages and demands more team support. To avoid this, Wiggins will need to be as high up as possible in the GC to justify protection and support on flat stages. He will also need to combat a strong BMC that will be racing for Cadel and Cadel only. Wiggins will have allies in his team in the mountains but if he is to win the Tour he will need to initiate attacks like he has never done so before. Wiggins ITT prowess ensures that losses in the mountains could be overcome by his TT ability but with Evans also a strong TT Wiggins will need to ride the tactical race of his life.
Wiggins looks to be well protected in the mountains with the two Australians, Porte and Rogers as well as the Vuelta runner up from 2011 Chris Froome. Team Sky will still look to take home the yellow and green jerseys, but whether the blue Sky team can take yellow and make the green jersey reality, remains to be seen. The likelihood of Boasson Hagen chasing stages wins looks to be limited in 2012 with a repeat performance of his stage wins in 2011 unlikely. His role will be as support for both Wiggins and Cavendish as a super domestique and thus won't be as free to join breakaways. Wiggins and Cavendish will be the two most likely sources of Sky stage wins but with Rogers in the team, as a three time ITT world champion, he may take a surprise TT win. Froome and Porte in the mountains may snare a sneaky win as well if their GC ambitions look pale.
There is no doubt that Wiggins goes into the 2012 Tour as a major favourite, possible even as ‘the’ favourite and his Sky team has been built primarily around this favouritism. And rightly so. Cavendish may feel marginalised at times throughout the Tour but he has shown he is capable of winning stages by himself and that he can get by without relying upon a big lead out train. Eisel is the key man for Cav if he is to defend the green jersey from last year as he will be the one Sky rider totally at Cav’s disposal. Wiggins on the other hand has the support of the rest of team and baring a serious crash an ascent onto the podium looks more than likely. However his main rival Cadel Evans looks to have that little bit more of support than Wiggins as well as the knowledge that he has win the Tour where Wiggins has only ever stood on one Grand Tour podium.
Wiggins ambition is clear and his form suggests that 2012 could finally be the year an Englishman wins the Tour. If this is to be Wiggins year, he will need to overcome the possibility of a fractured team if Cavendish starts winning multiple stages and demands more team support. To avoid this, Wiggins will need to be as high up as possible in the GC to justify protection and support on flat stages. He will also need to combat a strong BMC that will be racing for Cadel and Cadel only. Wiggins will have allies in his team in the mountains but if he is to win the Tour he will need to initiate attacks like he has never done so before. Wiggins ITT prowess ensures that losses in the mountains could be overcome by his TT ability but with Evans also a strong TT Wiggins will need to ride the tactical race of his life.
Team Sky 2012 Tour de France Team
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Mark Cavendish
Bernhard Eisel
Chris Froome
Christian Knees
Richie Porte
Michael Rogers
Kanstantsin Siutsou
Bradley Wiggins
No comments:
Post a Comment