By Brian Canty
Did Chris Froome attack Bradley Wiggins?
From first glance at it on the giant screens at the stage finish at La Toussuire last Thursday, my gut reaction was Chris Froome most certainly attacked his team-mate Bradley Wiggins but since then, that feeling has dissipated and it appears now that it was merely a misunderstanding between both riders and their manager back in the team car.
Froome was not allowed to keep going and Sky directors ordered him to wait for Wiggins.
Froome has been a model of support for Wiggins but his move, two miles from the finish, however, suggested he could be frustrated by his position within the mighty British outfit.
Asked about his possible desire to knock Wiggins off his perch, Froome's answer spoke volumes about his ambition.
"No mutiny," he said, before pausing. "Not now."
He said his move was meant to gain more time on Evans, but it looked more like a statement of his own power.
"The team orders are the priority No. 1," Froome said on his way back to his team hotel, after the 11th stage won by Frenchman Pierre Rolland.
"Definitely, it has to be like this. I'm sure I'll get my chance one day.
For now, I can see the bigger picture. I can see that my work is not going unnoticed, and that it is going to a bigger cause."
Froome extended his contract with Sky for three more seasons last September after finishing runner-up at the Vuelta ahead of third-placed Wiggins.
He said he received no guarantee he will be the team's leader next year.
"I don't know if it's going to be my chance," said the soft-spoken rider.
"I have no guarantee of that. Next year I might not be part of the Tour team. I might not be in the condition."
Is Wiggins unstoppable now?
Yes, with Froome a shoe-in for second.
But the feeling remains could Froome miss the best chance he’ll get to pull on the leader’s jersey?
Wiggins has an awesome team around him that includes national champions, former world champions, brilliant climbers and proven domestiques.
No other team has that level of rider in their team and no other team is as motivated to get the yellow jersey as Sky.
Team manager David Brailsford’s mandate is to produce a winner of the Tour de France in his five years in charge and this year he looks like he’ll do it with three years left to go.
Wiggins’s time-trial performance on Monday was scintillating and he blew every one of his rivals away over the course- Evans by over two minutes in what was one of the, if not the greatest individual displays of strength in the tour so far.
With still a week to go and anything possible, it’s not yet the done deal many think it is, but it will take an almighty collapse.
How are the Irish performing?
Impressive is one word to sum up the respective showings of Roche and Martin.
The latter has had some stomach problems this week and struggled with his breathing when the road went up and the pace increased but he’s nothing if not resilient and it was a terrific performance on Thursday that saw him infiltrate the day’s breakaway on one of the toughest stages of the race.
He was dropped once, but regained contact, before being dropped again and that’s how it stayed for him, rolling over the line in 33rd place.
That same day, Roche was climbing excellently but tailed off in the final few kilometres, but to give him his dues, only the best of them were left at that stage.
Roche was aggressive again on Saturday and almost forged clear with Evans and Michael Albasini with 35 kilometres to go which could have put him back inside the top 10, but it wasn’t to be.
Their respective aims are diametrically opposed for the remainder of the week, with Roche gunning for a top 10 overall and Martin pining for a stage win.
The chances of both are remote but not impossible.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/vE46tgpTesw/post.aspx
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