Bradley Wiggins (Sky Procycling) set the best time early in the time trial stage of the Eneco Tour, but would end up fifth on the stage when all was said and done. Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) won the stage, and though Wiggins was beaten, his team director believes he is still well on course to go for the world time trial championship next month.
Along with Chavanel, Wiggins was bettered by Tom Dumoulin (Argos-Shimano), Jesse Sergent (Radioshack-Leopard) and Sebastian Langeveld (Orica-GreenEdge).
The test against the watch in the Eneco Tour was traditionally short, just over 13 kilometres. The British rider said that this worked against him, as did the earlier start time.
“I’m pretty disappointed, but I knew after previewing the course that it would be good for guys like Taylor Phinney and Jesse Sergent,” Wiggins said according to nusport.nl. “The first part was technical. Plus, the distance was just too short for me. And I think it could have been tougher because of my early start time, as the wind was getting calmer in the afternoon.”
And in a frank comment about what his future could hold, the 33-year-old deferred to 2013 Tour de France champ Chris Froome. “With the supremacy of Chris Froome in the next five years, I would prefer to turn my attention back toward the track,” Wiggins stated.
But before any hasty decisions are made, the world championships will come about, and Sky director Servais Knaven has plenty of belief in his team’s star. Knaven indicated that the short Eneco test wasn’t an accurate depiction of Wiggins’ form.
“Of course we hoped for more but at the end of the day four guys were faster,” Knaven admitted on the Team Sky website. "Brad did a good time trial. The first part was quite technical but I think across the second half of the course he was the fastest of anyone. He is on the right path towards the worlds. Step by step he will get better and there is more to come for sure.”
The Eneco Tour concludes over the weekend, with showcases of popular climbs of the spring classics – plus, to be exact - a popular climb inexplicably removed from April.
Sky may look to feature Ian Stannard for Saturday’s finish on La Redoute, and Sunday on the Muur van Geraardsbergen.
“Ian is up to 10th on the GC so he is looking very good,” Knaven concluded. “He did a solid time trial and everything is quite close together at the top. It’s going to be an exciting weekend and I think tomorrow we’ll know a lot more after the finish on La Redoute.”