Great Britain’s Bradley Wiggins hasn’t shown the same form as last year, where he was clearly one of the strongest riders in the Tour, but a solid performance yesterday and an inching up the general classification means that Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford believes he can move into the top ten.
Wiggins has set this as his new target, with this ambition to be based on a decent ride in the Pyrenees and then a strong final time trial. Next Saturday’s race against the clock is a full 52 kilometres and with Wiggins’ history in that discipline, he could well take time back on his nearest rivals.
Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas fell yesterday, with he and Wiggins both being delayed in the mishap. They were helped by Edvald Boasson Hagen and Michael Barry to get back in touch, but it wasn’t a quick effort.
“It looked like a damage limitation day at that point - the break had formed and they had to chase hard for a long time to get back on,” said Brailsford in his blog. “But they turned it round and to get from there to putting Brad and Thomas (Löfkvist) in perfect position for that final climb was some effort.
“Thomas and Brad then did a super job at the end on what was a seriously steep slope and we're very pleased with both of their rides. Brad moved up a place on the GC and that's quite a good sign going into the Pyrenees, where we can just chip away and try and get into the top 10. So what started off as a very tricky day actually ended up positively and that bodes well.”
Wiggins and Löfkvist placed 14th and 21st respectively, crossing the line 31 seconds after stage winner Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) and Alberto Contador (Astana). Wiggins ended the day sixteenth overall and started today’s stage two minutes 23 seconds behind Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas-Doimo), who is tenth.
A stage win is also a target for the team, which has a huge amount of media interest in it (not least because of the Sky backing), but which has not yet sprayed the champagne at the race. As a result the other riders have been told to be aggressive and Juan Antonio Flecha is currently away in a break with Pierrick Fedrigo (BBox Bouygues Telecom) and the impressive Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), who has already taken two stages.
At the time of writing they had four minutes 39 seconds in hand with 128 kilometres remaining.
Flecha faces a long day in the saddle and, like the other two, must hold off the sprinters’ trains behind, as well as any riders who jump clear on the final climb of the day. One thing that will give him strength is the roadside support, which Brailsford has been genuinely surprised by.
“Once again today the fans on the route have been fantastic. Without a doubt the thing that's blown me away more than anything at the Tour has been the amount of supporters and the number of Team Sky tops at the side of the road - it's been phenomenal,” he said.
“And I really didn't expect that so soon. It's just amazing to see so many people out here cheering away and I can't thank them enough. There are lots and lots of Brits but also plenty of other nationalities. I don't think there can be anyone left in Norway as there are so many here who are all mad for Edvald as well as Thor Hushovd.”
He said that has an effect on the team, helping the riders to dig deeper and try to reward the fans with success.
The best results thus far have been Geraint Thomas’ second place on stage four, and the third places picked up by Edvald Boasson Hagen on the following two days.