Since I've been at the Tour, I've been trying to stay in the first five all the time just for my own head. - Brag Wiggins
Wiggins watched the Tour on television, saw Vande Velde holding his own with the elite in that race and said he was "inspired" by Vande Velde's eventual fourth-place finish -- a strong description from a rider who is not one to gush. "Just the fact that I knew he was clean, I saw what you can do, really, on bread and water," Wiggins said, using cycling's prosaic term for competing drug-free. "It's complicated. I don't want to get into it, because I'll just get myself in so much bother with this sort of stuff."
It was clear that Vande Velde, who is riding in his seventh Tour, needed more help in the mountains if he were to build on his 2008 performance. Few would have nominated Wiggins for that post, but the 29-year-old took it upon himself, carving his 6-foot-3-inch frame down to a near-skeletal 156 pounds and training specifically for his new task.
"I always knew I was capable, to be honest," he has said several times during this race, based on his power and cadence on the bike. |
No comments:
Post a Comment