Bradley Wiggins
The background
Cyclist Bradley Wiggins has made Tour de France history by retaining the yellow jersey for the fifth day in the row, becoming the first British rider to do so.
Hopes are high for Wiggins, riding for Team Sky, going into the twelfth stage of the 20-stage race. But can he see off rivals to become the first British Tour de France winner?
Wiggins should ignore drug slurs
The British rider reacted with expletive-laden fury to a journalist’s doping insinuations. “It may be that Wiggins is using the insinuations as fuel to force him up those alpine roads, which are unrecognizable from his old velodrome hunting ground, in which case flailing at his enemies serves a purpose,” wrote Paul Hayward in The Telegraph. But ultimately, Wiggins’s anger serves no purpose: “It would be a pity if this race became a road of bitterness for him. On a Tour of no surrendering, that would be a sad concession to his enemies.”
Wiggins speaks of sacrifices
“My children hardly ever see me this year. I missed their birthdays and their school assemblies,” Wiggins said, reported The Daily Mail. “But when you’re in this position it’s all worthwhile and when they’re older you can say that Dad won the Tour.”
Facing competition from teammate Froome?
Wiggins’s Sky teammate moved into second place after stage 11, causing “a possible dilemma for the British squad”, reported The Guardian. “Froome appeared so strong in the finale of the 148km 11th stage fthat he had to wait for his leader in the yellow jersey at one stage.” But Froome has pledged to support Wiggins on his quest for victory: “I’ll follow orders at all costs. I’m part of a team and I have to do what the team asks me to do,” he said.
Don’t write Cadel Evans off yet
Most commentators are pessimistic over the chances of defending champion Cadel Evans making a recovery to regain the title. But Evans’s BMC teammate Tejay van Garderen told Fox News Australia that Wiggins’s win is far from assured after his performance in stage 11: “It was the first time (Bradley) Wiggins was isolated today and if we can do that again in the next mountain stage and Cadel’s legs kind of come around, anything is possible. It’s a long way to Paris.”
