Bradley Wiggins believes teammate Mark Cavendish has to leave Team Sky to advance his career, the Tour de France winner and Olympic time trial champion said on Sunday.
“On a personal level, I have enjoyed riding with him, but I understand why he would probably have to leave,” Wiggins was quoted as saying in several media reports on Sunday. “I love seeing him win as much as anyone else and to see Mark back out on the Tour [de France] winning six, seven or eight different stages, and challenging for the green jersey, he probably has to go.”
Cavendish, 27, was part of the team that helped Wiggins become the first Briton to win the Tour, but the Manxman enjoyed just three stage wins as team orders took priority.
Photo: AFP
He took his number of stage wins to 23 in this year’s Tour, taking him to fourth on the all-time list, but his return was the lowest since his debut in the race back in 2007.
Last year, Cavendish, who still has more than two years left on his Sky deal, had won the green jersey as top sprinter.
Wiggins also said on Sunday that next month he plans to race in the Tour of Britain, regarded as a minor stage race compared with the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana, which teammate Chris Froome is currently trying to win.
Team Sky boss Dave Brailsford has stressed that Sky are targeting sustained general classification (GC) wins in those three Grand Tours, which works against sprinter Cavendish, whose strength is on the faster, flatter stages.
“Sky have set a precedent now, if we’re going to dominate cycling and try to win all three Grand Tours,” Wiggins said. “I suppose we have to start building towards the GC and, unfortunately for Mark, as we saw in the Tour, the two don’t really go well together.”
Wiggins starts the eight-stage Tour of Britain in Ipswich, England, on Sept. 9 to say thanks to all his fans for supporting him during his stellar year.
“I’m doing the Tour of Britain now,” the 32-year-old was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. “I’ll try to stay fit between now and then so I don’t embarrass myself. It’ll be good.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two