Chris Boardman believes Bradley Wiggins has one shot at winning the Tour de France, with a perfect storm developing to place the Team Sky leader as second favourite for this year’s race behind defending champion Cadel Evans.
- Bradley Wiggins underlined his Tour de France credentials with Tour de Romandie victory
Wiggins has enjoyed an impeccable year to date, becoming the first Briton since Tom Simpson in 1967 to win Paris-Nice, before securing overall victory in the Tour de Romandie on Sunday.
Wiggins has developed into a commanding rider who can barely put a foot wrong, both physically and tactically. The Londoner moved into the yellow jersey at Paris-Nice after being on the right end of a split in the peloton, while in Switzerland last week he showed a rare turn of top-end speed to win a bunch sprint on stage one to claim a valuable time bonus before recovering from a mechanical to triumph in the final time trial.
That victory underlined Wiggins’ prowess against the clock, with time trial wins also coming at Paris-Nice and the Volta ao Algarve, while Wiggins also claimed world time trial silver in 2011.
And, with more than 90km against the clock in a race which has just five high mountain stages, Boardman believes July’s Tour de France route is tailor-made for the British national champion.
“It’s a tough one for him because everyone can see that this is it, this is the year,” Boardman told RCUK. “He’s unlikely to get everything so stacked for him like he has this year: where he’s at in his career, physically, tactically – because he’s not putting a foot wrong – and with 90km of time trialling, this is as good at it gets.
“It’s like the Schlecks, that was theirs last year. If he [Wiggins] isn’t going to win it this year, it probably isn’t going to happen. It’s a lot of pressure for him but that’s part of the deal.”
Wiggins will be forced to share the limelight in the Team Sky bus at the Tour de France, with team principal Dave Brailsford set to juggle both a yellow and green jersey campaign, and Boardman believes Mark Cavendish’s sprint exploits could take some pressure off of Wiggins’ shoulders.
“It’s a real challenge to have,” added Boardman, who won three Tour de France stages in a seven-year professional career. “It’s a great problem to have, and if there’s anybody who can manage that kind of fluid situation then it’s Dave [Brailsford].
“It’s super high risk to go into the Tour de France with one card to play and Mark Cavendish is the ultimate insurance package. Dave’s got every ingredient he could possibly wish for now, so it’ll be fascinating to see how it pans out.”
Both Wiggins, a three-time Olympic gold medallist on the track, and Cavendish will ride for Great Britain at the Olympic Games less than a week after the peloton rolls down the Champs Elysees for the final stage of the Tour de France.
First Wiggins will ride in support of Cavendish on July 28, the first full day of the Games, when the Manx Missile will start the Olympic road race as favourite, while Wiggins will then contest the time trial on August 1 over a 44km course.
And Boardman believes a successful Tour de France campaign could provide the springboard for both riders to claim gold in London.
“If you look at the World Championships in recent years, the top ten nearly always comes out of the Vuelta because you can’t simulate that kind of training,” added Boardman, who won Olympic individual pursuit gold at the 1992 Games in Barcelona.
“Racing the Tour de France is not a controllable way to go into the Olympics, because if you’re on the back foot throughout the Tour then you might come out thrashed – but if you come through in good shape then it’s the best possible form you can get, and there’s enough time to recover.”
