Sky Pro Cycling - We Support Our Local Team

Even in this money talks media age teams like Chelsea and Man U still go through the old ritual of the open topped bus ride through their City streets to celebrate famous wins. This showing off the spoils, the town turning out to celebrate their success feels linked to something quite ancient.

For the domestic market at least Team Sky has been at pains to stress its Britishness, not only seeking to have a Tour Winner, but a British winner. Victorious British Cycling teams on an international stage are somewhat few and far between and cycling as a massed spectator sport is still a new phenomenon here. So I was surprised the Sky passed up the opportunity presented by last Sunday's Prudential Classic. It could have been, with the presence of Froome, Porte, Kennaugh et al been the cycling equivalent of that open bus tour. a chance for a grateful nation to acknowledge their champions. Or maybe giving us another chance to remember Wiggo's golden 2012. Instead Sky sent, well not meaning to be harsh but to describe them ad the B team is probably about right. Now I know that traditionally the Tour riders go and milk their tour success in Criteriums around Europe. But Sky choosing not to acknowledge the home fans was a mistake. 

A Women's Tour de France

I hope that Brian Cookson's public support for a Women's Tour is not just part of his campaign to be President of the UCI. Somebody of his stature throwing their weight behind it after the Tour's rather sniffy response could be a breakthrough. On the track, representing their countries Women riders have made huge leaps in recent years, and when given equal billing on the road, like at the Olympics deliver the goods. In Bejing Nicole Cooke delivered a win in a thrilling race, while in London Armisted only came up short to Vos, a true great.

But when it comes to professional road racing Women riders are getting a lousy deal, and as a result the fans are missing out. The shameful disparity in the incomes of riders was revealed when Cooke highlighted that as Olympic and World Champion she was earning £50k a year.

If you want to watch Women's road racing on TV well fat chance. Oddly because of ITV's coverage of the Johnson Healthtec series you have a better chance of seeing women riders in this slightly low rent domestic races than competing in the big World Cup events. ITV4 and Eurosport show little interest in covering these races, but at least there is a Women's Tour of Flanders. When it comes to the most famous and most prestigious cycling event in the world, nothing.

It was probably a bit rude door stepping Christian Prudomme on this issue when he came here to promote next years Grand Depart in Yorkshire. But his response, basically its all to hard, was weak. The sport has a duty to tackle this inequality, a duty most have shirked so far.  

National Pride - Oh no not here as well

I am no stranger to national allegiance in sport. In my teens I would even troop off to Wembley to watch Ron Greenwood or Bobby Robson’s England Teams draw or lose to the likes of Greece and Denmark. I would watch in wrapped agony on TV as Viv Richards humbled the English Bowling before the Windies bowlers put our batsmen to the sword. I sat through every Olympics since Brendan Foster fell short in 1976 rooting for our girls and boys. With tear filled eyes turning and asking that question 'Father, is there a sport we aren't completely crap at?'

It was the Tour de France when Lance was set to break the record number of wins that I got interested in cycle sport.  I had just bought a Ridgeback Hybrid and was congratulating myself on completing a 16 mile ride to Bromley and back. Feeling like a proper cyclist I bought a copy of Cycling Weekly. It was the pre Tour Edition full of the stories of the previous riders who had managed five wins, and a review of the teams.

With the help of ITV2’s coverage, always nicely aimed at the uninitiated, for the first time I started to understand how the race worked. How the teams worked, that is was not just a mob of blokes hammering up the road seeing who could get to the end first. Well it is and it isn’t.  I started to understand the difference between the GC contenders and the Sprinters. Lance was an easy pantomime villain, Tommy Voeckler battling away, Jan Ullrich sliding away. All wonderfully free from any national pride issues. There were no British riders. Not even a humble domestique. There was no British hope, I was completely free to get behind the riders I liked and wish ill up those I did not.

It was Cav who started spoiling this, but it was easy enough, Cav is the kind of rider I would have enjoyed even if he was Belgian, Spanish or French. The flamboyance in Victory and defeat. Still there was no threat to the GC, Millar and Wiggo were visible but not contenders, the sharp end of the race was in the hands of others. Then it wasn’t. Wiggo came 4^th. Then Sky appear, planning to win with a Brit. It started to feel like every other fucking sport again. My ability to enjoy the simple beauty of the racing being undermined by national sympathies.  Then Wiggo wins, then Froome is the favourite and I’m standing on Mount Ventoux holding a flag.

I had always found the throng of nationalities on the mountains part of the thrill, those strange Basque flags, the Lion of Flanders. While I suspect those regional flags probably have some political significance I am not required to acknowledge this. Its just part of the spectacle.

But standing on Alp d’Huez I found myself opposite a man wearing a bikini because he had lost a bet. Wearing in a Union Jack like a Sarong he wiggled his arse around while his girlfriend, in a Ginger Spice dress asked the men in Orange where they were from.  Their friends enthusiastically engaged with (harassed, annoyed, intimidated) anyone passing while tackling bottles of beer and red wine. A club mate suggested we should have pretended to be German.  I concluded that national allegiance is much more appealing in a language one does not understand.

Lukewarm response to Froome's TdF win

With the dust settling on both the Tour de France and the Old Portlians own mini tour this is a good chance to share some thoughts.

I would say that despite a fair bit of coverage last weekend by today the Chris Froome’s Tour win has safely sunk below the surface of media attention. Even in the immediate aftermath of his win a good few commentators were asking why in comparison to Wiggo last year, Froome had not captured the public imagination.

On one level this does seem odd; the manner of Froome’s win was at least as deserving. This was a far tougher parcour. Wiggo’s make time in the TT’s and defend in the mountains tactic would have been wretchedly exposed this time. And in 2012 the Sky team worked like clockwork throughout while this time they often looked brittle, Froome on several occasions is left to fend for himself. Beyond this Froome rode an attacking race, making time in the TT’s but also taking his opponent on in the high mountains in the process claiming some fantastic stage wins. To win a stage at the top of the Ventoux while in yellow in itself a huge achievement.

But then why the slightly downbeat reception.  Well, being the second to win is never quite the same as being the first, but it was the 100^th edition so special in other ways. Some have pointed to Froome’s ‘Britishness.’ Born in Kenya and educated in South Africa he doesn’t sound like he comes from Kilburn. While Wiggo was born abroad, he did grow up here and cut his teeth racing in Kent.  But to be fair we have learnt to love plenty of ‘English’ Cricketers who have more than a hint of somewhere else in their accent.

Others have suggested it is because he lacks Wiggo’s charisma. Now, I have to say I am something of an agnostic when it comes to Wiggo’s charm. A taste for Dadrock, Britpop swearing and sideburns does not maketh a personality. While some seem to appreciate his geezerish banter, it often seems crass to me.  Froome’s measured poignant and humble victory speech was appropriate to the occasion, when Wiggo’s raffle ticket ramblings fell a long way short. That said cool headed professionalism is not always a short cut to the nations hearts. David Beckham could become golden balls not just because he took descent free kicks. Disgrace, allowed him to seek redemption. A far more fetching story.

But for me another factor is surround success. For those old enough to remember, it was amazing how the British public could learn to care about ice skating when Robin Cousins or Torvill and Dean were our only medal prospect in the winter Olympics. On the Ventoux and Alp d’Huez there was no shortage of British fans, and cycling is a sport on the rise. But that is from a tiny niche base. We have few if any ancient grudges in cycling, there are no old rivalries that make defeat sting and victory sing. It is important to remember that last summer the Tour finished before the Olympics but after yet another disappointing England performance in football and yet another Wimbledon where our guy did not quite make it. This year it has arrive like the small chocolate with the bill in a curry house. Massive wins for the Lions, some dominant showings in the Ashes and that so long yearned for victory in Tennis has given the wider sporting public plenty to fear on. No need to dwell too long on something a little bit foreign. If the Aussies has sent the Lions packing, and England were following on in the Test, and Murray was once again rueing what might have been maybe we would have clung more passionately to this victory.

Wiggo and the problems of meritocracy

One of the features of Dave Brailsford's British Cycling has been its unsentimental meritocracy. There seems to have been no place for laurels resting in this team. I imagine the Chris Hoy was less than thrilled to bits not to be able to defend his Sprint title in London, but hey Jason Kenny delivered the goods. Clearly Victoria Pendleton was a star, but her tensions with BC have been well reported.
Transferring this culture to team Sky has not been that straight forward, and Wiggo has been on both sides of the 'what about me?' fence.
Wiggo and Cav have an odd history. When Cav signed for Sky he must have been aware tat te no1 plan was to get a British rider onto the top step of the podium at the tour. Wiggo had been bought in at great expense to do this. Yet Cav struggled with his 2nd fiddle role in 2012, despite it being obvious from the off that working for sprint stages was somewhere down the teams priority list. Wiggo, showing himself as part of Cav's lead out train seemed to be doing his best to help his team mate. But that was never going to be enough for a man used to having a whole team riding in his service.
Wiggo and Froome highlights the real tensions with Sky's meritocracy. Wiggo is the multi gold medal winning TdF champ. But his form since last summer has stunk, and he seems to be plagued by the misfortunes that come from being short of your best. Froome, since wilting in the Vuelta, has made a strong start to the year winning several top level stage races. After months of niggling between the two over who will lead in the tour, Brailsford has now felt the need to publicly intervene and taken Froome's part. For whatever reason Wiggo had a lousy Giro, his supposed big objective for the year. All his noises about a  Giro TdF double now now seem very short of the mark. So it is logical that with a tour that appears to be more suited to Froome he should be given the nod.  But this is where the track and road diverge. Over months of testing in the laboratory of the velodrome I imagine it was pretty clear that Kenny should ride the sprint, and Hoy the Kerin. Who leads in the TdF is full of a wide range of uncontrollable variables. My guess is that if Wiggo gets himself into yellow whatever Sky's management say now the team will be put in his service. If he then falters on a mountain pass with Froome alongside it all goes nuclear.