Sky Procycling Race Coach Rod Ellingworth has said that he believes Bradley Wiggins is in better shape than he was last season, and that a top ten finish in the Tour de France is a realistic target.
“Obviously he has a different lead in with the Giro last year, and this season he has gone to a different programme,” he told VeloNation. “But I think in general the form is good. I would say it is better than this time last year, and also he is in a better frame of mind. Also the team are better placed to support someone like that.
“Top ten [in the Tour] is what we are aiming for. Bradley is coming into this team as a GC contender for the Tour, and that is what we are hoping for. It will all on again to do that, and at the moment, the signs show that he is capable of getting it. He has done it once before, there is no reason why he can’t do it again.”
Wiggins stunned many two years ago when he finished fourth overall in the race. The then-Garmin-Transitions rider was known as a Olympic gold medal track rider and time trial specialist, but lost weight and made a dramatic improvement in his climbing ability.
He finished the race six minutes one second behind Alberto Contador, and was just 37 seconds off the third place of Lance Armstrong (Astana). That performance led to a lucrative deal with Sky Procycling, but also to a big increase in the pressure he was under. As a result of that and of going too deep in the Giro, he finished back in 24th place, almost 40 minutes behind Contador.
This season, things are looking more solid. He was third overall in Paris-Nice, second in the time trial in Criterium International, fourth in the TT in the Tour de Romandie and then won the race against the clock in the recent Bayern Rundfarht.
He beat Fabian Cancellara by 33 seconds in that test, getting an important psychological boost. He is now riding the Dauphiné Libéré, where he placed third in the prologue.
Ellingworth wants to see him push himself hard in that race, and has a clear target for the Tour. “We are saying top ten. If he got tenth, we’d be happy. If he was ninth, we would be happy,” he said. “I think if he was fifth or better, we would be totally over the moon. If he got on the podium, it would be incredible. But we would definitely walk away and be very, very happy if he was tenth.
“We would like to win a stage, obviously, which most teams would want to do. So, win a stage and Bradley getting top ten GC would be pretty good.”
VeloNation spoke to Ellingworth on Saturday evening, and got his thoughts on Wiggins plus a number of other riders. The first part of that interview now follows; you can read part II here:
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VN: First off, Rod, David Appollonio won the penultimate stage at the Tour of Luxembourg – that’s a big boost to his confidence…
RE: Yes, it is, for sure. He has been second a few times. He’s been progressing pretty well, and I think he’s got a good opportunity. Greg [Henderson] was sick, and got off halfway through the stage. I think that David has done a good job, for sure.
VN: Do you think Greg’s withdrawal is then something that could have worked in his favour, given that it allowed him make the breakthrough?
RE: I think so. It is like any young sprinter, and they have to wait for their opportunity. When you get the opportunity, you have to make the most of it. A lot of people get the opportunity and don’t make the most of it, but we knew David was quick. He proved that in the Giro and has been going well. I think he has taken his chance well there, which is great.
VN: Bradley Wiggins also had a significant result recently, beating Cancellara by over 30 seconds in a time trial at the Bayern Rundfahrt. How significant is that win for his morale?
RE: I think morale-wise, it is perfect. It is hard to stay where Cancellara was in that time trial, whether he felt good or didn’t…30 seconds is a lot to put into Cancellara. I’d imagine that was his first race back since the Classics, so I think he was a little bit off condition.
But that’s not taking anything away from Brad – he was committed, he went there to win GC as well. It ended up going in G’s [Geraint Thomas] favour more than Brad. But it was a good ride…I think from the team’s perspective, we’ve had a good run recently.
VN: Bradley goes into the Dauphine now; what will his aims be there?
RE: Well, he wants to go for GC. He will give the prologue 100 percent and then continue on like that. That is what we want to get from Bradley, that he goes 100 percent in every stage. He has got the form, he has just got to get that final bit of condition before the Tour.
In general, GC is definitely the preferred goal in the Dauphiné, rather than the prologue or time trial.
VN: What does Bradley think is possible in the overall?
RE: I think top ten would be good. If you are top ten, it is WorldTour points. I think top ten would be reasonable, and if you get that, you are racing in the sharp end, which is important.
VN: Because of its timing, the fact that it is a certain number of weeks away from the Tour, in recent years the guy who have tended to win the Dauphiné have not really been firing on all cylinders in the Tour. Is that symptomatic of going too deep in the Dauphiné, or is more the fact that they were peaking too early and they were already in top shape there?
RE: There are some people who have gone on and performed really well in the Tour after the Dauphiné. It is how you manage your time after the Dauphiné. If you are coming into the race and you are already on it, I believe you can hold your form from it to the Tour. If you are still chasing form or condition, three or four weeks out from a major Tour is possibly too late anyway.
Most people will want to be on good form in the Dauphiné. I think it is what people do afterwards that is more the key. If they keep searching for more form, I would think they overdo it.
VN: Presumably you have been doing testing and looking at performances, so how do you feel Bradley’s form is compared to last year?
RE: It is good. Obviously he has a different lead in with the Giro last year, and this year he has gone to a different programme. But I think in general the form is good. I would say it is better than this time last year, and also he is in a better frame of mind, I think. Also the team are better placed to support someone like that.
I think there was a lot of sh*t went around last year about what we were going to achieve. Some for sure was us saying things which weren’t perhaps correct, and there was a lot of other hype around the team going into the Tour. I think all that, and Bradley getting involved in all that, just wasn’t the right thing last year.
I think the team in general is a lot more settled, and performing a little bit more across the board. It is not just about one bike rider.
VN: And that takes the pressure off him as well, when you have got the other guys firing…
RE: Definitely, yes.
VN: Looking at the Tour, do you think he is on course for a top ten overall?
RE: Yeah, I think that is what we are aiming for. Bradley is coming into this team as a GC contender for the Tour, and that is what we are hoping for. It will all on again to do that, and signs at the moment show that he is capable of getting it. He has done it once before, there is no reason why he can’t do it again.
We are literally saying top ten. If he got tenth, we’d be happy. If he was ninth, we would be happy. I think if he was fifth or better, we would be totally over the moon. If he got on the podium, it would be incredible. But we would definitely walk away and be very, very happy if he was tenth. We would like to win a stage, obviously, which most teams would want to do.
Win a stage, Bradley getting top ten GC would be pretty good.
VN: Geraint Thomas is improving all the time, and took the overall classification in Bayern Rundfarht. Has he set targets for the Dauphiné?
RE: G will be for sure going for the prologue. He will have a little sniff around some of the stages in the Dauphiné, but very much there to support and learn that role. I think it is important for him to get into the big mountains again…every time he rides those big climbs, even if he blows up, it is an experience and you get better from that.
I think the white jersey for a period of time is highly likely, I think, when you consider the stages and the team time trial. I think there is no reason why he can’t wear that white jersey again early on in the Tour.
In part II, read Ellingworth’s assessment of the current form and future potential of Mark Cavendish and Edvald Boasson Hagen, whom he both coaches. He also assesses the abilities of Ben Swift and David Appollonio.