Wiggins underwhelming in Giro time trial.

//Wiggins underwhelming in Giro time trial.

Wiggins underwhelming in Giro time trial.

 

Wiggins. Faster than Nibali but not by much.

We were supposed to see Bradley Wiggins in pink today after he dominated the 55k time trial. He’d make up for his bad luck in the first week by scorching his rivals on the road to Saltara.

This was his discipline, he’s the Olympic Time Trial champion and the fastest knight on two wheels. His win was almost guaranteed by the experts and pundits. Then at last perhaps he’d come out and speak with the media instead of rushing to the safety of the team bus, leaving team manager David Brailsford to explain what went wrong.

No, today was to be the Wiggo show, the cornerstone of Sky’s Giro plan, his personal road to victory and the maglia rosa. To steal the title of his autobiography, the time trial was “My Time.”

Only it wasn’t.

Sir Brad had his troubles on the first half of the difficult TT, punctured, changed bikes, lost momentum, misplaced his rhythm and was forced to ride like hell on the flatter second half to make up time. How many Pinarello changes has Wiggins endured in this first week? The man is going through bikes like crazy.

Instead, it was his rival Vincenzo Nibali who made the dramatic news, taking fourth and conceding a mere 11 seconds to Wiggins. Nibali found himself in pink, took the coveted leader’s jersey and surprised the fans with his strong fourth place ride.

The Italian climber is thrilled to be 1:16 up on the English chrono champion with the long time trial behind him and the mountains ahead. Who saw that one coming?

 

 

 

By |2019-02-03T16:06:17-08:00May 11th, 2013|Uncategorized|5 Comments

About the Author:

5 Comments

  1. Eric Peter Osborne May 11, 2013 at 12:34 pm - Reply

    So Sky get slagged when they dominate and sniped at when things don’t go to plan. All the detractors should be happy now, you’ve got an exciting race

  2. Larry @CycleItalia May 12, 2013 at 2:42 am - Reply

    Count me as a detractor – one who doesn’t much care for boring racing strategies as demonstrated by SKY at the TdF and one who finds it tough to be anything but a detractor when the thing is bankrolled by Rupert Murdoch’s fortune. VAI NIBALI! VAI EVANS!

    • walshworld May 16, 2013 at 7:43 am - Reply

      Im pulling for Nibali, Larry. Thanks for the note. Matt

  3. cappuccinoexpress May 12, 2013 at 6:17 am - Reply

    big shake in gc. One week ago everyone expected to see Wiggo in pink with a couple of minutes on the others contenders after this tt. Now it is the opposite and he has to attack, his chances are much lower than before. Looking the gc now, i see (incredilbly) Gesink as the main Nibali’s opponent.

    • walshworld May 15, 2013 at 3:17 pm - Reply

      Cap, pretty crazy with Wiggins getting sick. Odds are stacked against him and maybe it serves him right for being a bit of a jerk to media and fans. Lesson learned — loosen up and enjoy the ride and the race. Matt

Leave A Comment