Dave Brailsford: Sky's ambitions not confined to the Tour
Dave Brailsford, the general manager of British cycling outfit Sky, has said neither his team nor the media should focus exclusively on Sky's performance's in the Tour de France.
After winning the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and stages in the Tour of Oman, Paris–Nice, Tirreno–Adriatico, Criterium International and Giro d'Italia, Sky, which formed in December 2009, were invited to start
the Tour in its first competitive season.
Hopes were high ahead of the race, as team leader Bradley Wiggings, then riding for Garmin-Slipstream finished fourth in the 2009 edition of the Tour.
Wiggins failed to reproduce his form for Sky, finishing 24th overall, while the team collected no stage victories after a disappointing showing.
Speaking to the Guardian, Brailsford said that his team should not focus so exclusively on the Tour in the future.
"We set out our stall for the Tour de France and, with hindsight, we needed to be much broader," the Welshman, who also serves as performance director of British Cycling, said. "The Tour is a bit like
Wimbledon and tennis — the gaze of the nation falls on Wimbledon for that fortnight. That's not what we want to do. The guys are racing all season, and I think we need to be a lot more relaxed, and have more fun."
2010 season not all bad
Brailsford, who is looking to broaden his team's focus for the 2011 season, conceded that Sky had failed to live up to expectations during their first competitive season.
But the 46-year-old added that Sky's 2010 season nonetheless promises more from riders like Wiggins, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Geraint Thomas and Simon Gerrans.
"You have to have goals and we're certainly not throwing in the towel. We're a big team and we have big aspirations. We tried desperately to live up to the expectations this year, and in a way shot ourselves
in the foot, but what are you going to do? It's easy to portray the season as all doom and gloom but when you look at the whole picture you see 73 podiums, 25 wins, sixth in the list [of wins per team]. We're ranked eighth for next year. It was a very successful
year but we keep harping back to the same subject, the Tour."
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