Team Sky looks forward after learning some harsh lessons
Tuesday’s unveiling of the 2011 Tour de France route has perked up the ears of Dave Brailsford of Team Sky and his top general classification rider Bradley Wiggins. The route for
next year’s race marks the return of a Team Time-Trial (TTT) stage as early in the race as the second stage, which certainly works into the hands of the new British team, who have now thrown their name in as a likely yellow-jersey holder next July.
“It's going to be a really important day for us in terms of our team selection and preparation,” said Wiggins. "There's obviously more chance of losing time on that opening stage than there would be in
a prologue, but if all goes well there then stage two represents a great chance for us to win the stage and get someone in the yellow jersey."
The 23km TTT will be held in Les Essarts on the second day of the Tour. Unless something goes terribly wrong in stage one, Team Sky can be expected to be up there with HTC-Columbia and Garmin at the head
of the peloton in an effort to make up for their disappointing debut at the 2010 Tour. The new British-based team had been very specific that their target of putting a British rider in the yellow jersey in Paris was still a few years away, but that didn’t
stop the hype from getting out of hand and furthering their embarrassment when they couldn’t match the top teams.
"With those stages out of the way, you could argue that if a team is on top of their game they could potentially defend the jersey right the way through to Super-Besse Sancy on stage nine,” said Brailsford
of the 2011 route. "Some of the stages in between have tough finishes though so it's going to be a very difficult race to control."
Wiggins finished just off the podium in 2009, riding with Garmin for a fourth-place overall in the Tour. Team Sky, however, had a lot of kinks to smooth out in their debut season and Wiggins wasn’t able
to match his performance in the unfamiliar outfit.
"We've talked about what went wrong there and we're already in the process of putting things right next year,” said Wiggins. “It's no secret we want to get on the podium, and win it if we can, and we'll
set the bar high once again and aim to do that."
Things will be a bit tighter and more comfortable in 2011. There will be little change to the line-up, and Russell Downing, one of the leader’s top supporters, has confirmed his faith in the team by renewing
his contract. The 31-year-old Briton, has focused on domestic racing in the UK, where he built one of the best Continental track records, but his breakout season with Team Sky has given him the chance to prove himself throughout Europe.
"Last winter I did worry a bit if I was going to be able to step up psychologically,” said Downing. “I've always felt I was capable of riding at ProTour level, and that's always been my goal, but I have
been left deflated in the past when I've won races on the continent but have still not been offered a major contract. Thankfully, when Team Sky was formed I managed to get a place on the squad and was not going to let that chance pass me by.”
Both riders have admitted that the team’s training program for the 2010 Tour was riddled with mistakes, including an aggressive bid at the Giro d’Italia and a very thin racing program between that tour
and the Tour de France. But Wiggins and Downing both said there was as much good as bad in this year’s race.
"We learned a lot from what happened there though, and I think everyone on the team now has a far better understanding of where we need to be, and how we need to approach it next time around,” said Downing.
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