Tour de France 2021 – ‘It’s been savage’ – Bradley Wiggins on ‘brutal’ first week, backs Geraint Thomas
:focal(136x152:138x150)/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2015/11/13/1731704-36632322-310-310.png)
Updated 05/07/2021 at 06:58 GMT
“To think it’s only one week we’ve done. We’ve got two weeks left of the race and the field is decimated. It’s absolutely decimated,” said Bradley Wiggins as the peloton took a belated breath after Stage 9. Listen to the latest episode of The Bradley Wiggins Show on all good podcast platforms now and watch the Tour de France live and ad-free on the Eurosport app and Eurosport.co.uk
Tadej Pogacar in yellow
Image credit: Getty Images
Bradley Wiggins says the first rest day is overdue at the Tour de France after a “savage” and “brutal” opening week.
The race has thrown up an extraordinary amount of incidents including huge crashes, high-profile abandonments, and a one-man GC show from Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).
Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck–QuickStep) has also won two stages on his return to the Tour – moving him within two of the all-time record, a milestone he is reluctant to acknowledge – while the mountains created extra drama over the weekend.
Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroen) produced a statement ride to win Stage 9 by over five minutes and move second in the general classification, while Pogacar rode away from his main rivals to strengthen his hold on yellow.
The latest episode of The Bradley Wiggins Show saw the 2012 Tour champion reflect on a hectic opening week.
“I think everyone needs a rest. It feels like we’ve done three weeks of the Tour, it’s been savage,” said Wiggins.
“I don’t remember a Tour like it for a long time. It’s been a brutal Tour de France.”
He added: “To think it’s only one week we’ve done. We’ve got two weeks left of the race and the field is decimated. It’s absolutely decimated.”
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2021/07/01/3165230-64860048-2560-1440.jpg)
'Quite something to be winning at 36' - Wiggins and Cavendish discuss Tour performance
Wiggins backed Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) to bounce back from the disappointment of seeing his GC hopes evaporate and challenge for a stage win. The Welshman is 39’42” back in GC after a horrible outing on Stage 8 that also saw Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) suffer and later withdraw.
“I don’t think this race is over for G yet,” said Wiggins.
“It is for GC definitely, it would be nice to see Ineos spread their numbers a bit and let G go up the road.
“He is capable of doing something like Ben O’Connor did and that is something you’re not used to seeing from a Team Sky or Ineos point of view. It would be lovely to see that.”
Wiggins was also delighted to see Cavendish scrape under the cut-off limit. The Manx Missile will feature in the second week after coming home on Sunday with just 97 seconds to spare.
"I saw him getting dropped on the first climb, and he had three or four team-mates around him," said Wiggins.
"It shows the difference that a team makes to you, committed to a cause and committed to Mark as well.
"And it shows he was lacking on the team front a couple of years ago, and he's back in his rightful place."
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2021/07/04/3167255-64900548-2560-1440.jpg)
Cavendish in tears after crossing the line just in time
- - -
You can watch the Tour de France live and ad-free on the Eurosport app and Eurosport.co.uk. Download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now. You can also watch the most comprehensive live & ad-free racing on GCN+. Go deeper and get interactive with live polls & quizzes, plus rider profiles, race updates, results & more – plus stream exclusive cycling documentaries.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement