First Edition Cycling News, Sunday, January 23, 2011

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January 23, 2011, 00:00

• Three-way battle for Tour Down Under glory

  

  Article published:

  January 22, 2011, 13:35

  By:

  Jane Aubrey

  Meyer, Goss and Matthews all in contention ahead of final day

  The general classification lead in the Tour Down Under has changed just once on the final day in its 12 year history. On Sunday HTC-Highroad's Matthew Goss and and Rabobank's Michael Matthews have the chance to usurp compatriot Cameron Meyer of Garmin-Cervelo.

  It's a mouth–watering proposition. In total, there are 16 seconds in time bonuses up for grabs between the intermediate sprints and the race win. For the first time since 2008, the time gap between first and second place heading into Sunday is less than 10 seconds, with Meyer and Goss separated by just eight seconds.

  Next best, at 10 seconds, is Rabobank's Laurens ten Dam, but as a climber, he surely won't figure when it comes to tomorrow's final stage – a drag race around the flat streets of the city of Adelaide.

  Instead, Rabobank will be laying their cards on the table for Michael Matthews, who is 12 seconds behind and the reigning under 23 world road race champion.

  All three riders are Australian, with Goss the old man of the bunch at 24 years of age, while Meyer is 23 and Matthews just 20.

  There have been more than a few very close Tour Down Unders but in order to find the last time the overall lead changed hands on the final day, you need to look back to 2001 and Stuart O'Grady's second title at the Adelaide race, when he put two seconds on Kai Hundertmark.

  Farrar gets a chance at redemption

  Garmin-Cervelo's top sprinter Tyler Farrar admits this has been far from an ideal week for him. A harsh northern hemisphere winter meant his training regime wasn't as good as he would have liked heading into his debut at the Australian World Tour race.

  A crash on stage two ruined his best chance of being in contention for the general classification but the thought of a 90km dash around the city has the five-time Grand Tour stage winner feeling motivated on two fronts.

  "It's always motivating to go for the win but now it's going to come down to the time bonuses tomorrow so hopefully I can get in the mix and stop Goss from picking up too much time," he told Cyclingnews, following news of the narrow lead his teammate would carry into the sixth and final stage.

  "We're a professional team and we've all ridden together for a while now and we know each other pretty well. We came here to try and do a good race and that's what we're doing."

  Meyer will take a lot of confidence from the role his American teammate played to allow him to retain the ochre jersey at Willunga saying Farrar "swapped off the front so well today - normally it's me doing that.

  "The team rode beautifully and rode to the tactics we set at the start of the day. I'm confident - the legs are good and I hope it works out well tomorrow so we still have the jersey."

  The wildcard

  Michael Matthews doesn't do things quietly. He can be spotted dancing something he calls the ‘Melbourne shuffle' before the start of a stage – much to the delight of his team, and has earned the nickname ‘Bling' because he sports the odd piercing and tattoo.

  When he took out stage three between Unley and Stirling, he did so in style. Matthews had time to sit up and savour the win and his on-bike dance was coined the ‘Bling boogie'.

  Matthews was comparatively reserved when it came to talking about his chances of stealing overall victory on Sunday.

  "I'm feeling good coming in to the final stage in fourth position," he said. "I'll have a go but I'll definitely be a bit tired tomorrow after today's stage."

  Rabobank's team captain for the event Graeme Brown is wary of putting any unnecessary pressure on the rising star and continued his recent trend of keeping the talk to a minimum but remained quietly confident of a good result.

  "Of course we can [win]," the four-stage winner of the Tour Down Under told Cyclingnews. "Anything is possible!"

  Brown told Cyclingnews prior to this year's race that he and Tom Leezer would be combining with a new speed man.

  "We've got another young neo pro here called Coen Vermeltfoort, who from the reports I've got from Tom Leezer who's been training with him for the last month, he's just being going unreal – the numbers he's been putting out in sprints are just phenomenal," Brown said.

  The pre-race favourite

  Matthew Goss is having a really good summer on home turf. The Tasmanian has been busy but he said earlier in the week that the results had been worth it.

  A meagre two week break was all that separated Goss' participation in the World Championships in Geelong from his pre-season preparation. His form has held solid through overall victory at the Jayco International criterium series in Victoria where he narrowly defeated Matthews. The following week Goss finished second to Jack Bobridge in the national road titles at Mt Buninyong, before he took out the Tour Down Under prelude, the Cancer Council Classic.

  Goss reeled in another four seconds of time on stage five to close the gap to Meyer after he finished the stage in third position behind Matthews and Movistar's Francisco Ventoso.

  "You've got to take a bit of good out of it," Goss said of the queen stage. "We still got a few seconds back on Cam so the gap's less tomorrow. So we'll try... there's 16 seconds in bonuses tomorrow so it's still doable."

  In his HTC-Highroad teammates, Goss has one of the best, if not the best lead-out trains in the business. That, along with his form over a short, flat course should give Goss the edge.

  "I'm feeling good. The sprints are there. My legs are good - I wasn't really in trouble at Willunga. I felt pretty comfortable. Tomorrow's going to be a bit better than today I think."

• Tour de San Luis title no longer a priority for Liquigas

  

  Article published:

  January 22, 2011, 14:24

  By:

  Kirsten Frattini

  Zanatta happy with early-season training

  Liquigas-Cannondale came to the Tour de San Luis with the aim of repeating their overall victory of 2010. Last January it was Vincenzo Nibali who took the win, but the chances of one of his teammates emulating him are becoming increasingly slim with only two stages left. According to Directeur Sportif Stefano Zanatta, winning the overall classification is no longer a priority but he is pleased enough with the team’s two podium places in stages two and five.

  “No, I don’t think it is possible to win the overall now,” Zanatta told Cyclingnews. “I think we saw in stage five, with the breakaway and the new riders that moved up in the classification. I think Tondo has good control with his team and is climbing well right now.”

  Two-time Giro d’ Italia winner Ivan Basso pointed to Eros Capecchi as the team’s overall classification rider for the seven-stage event that kicked off last Monday in San Luis, Argentina. Capecchi placed second on stage two in the final five-kilometre ascent on the Mirador Del Potrero and moved into second place overall behind stage winner and former race leader Jose Serpa (Androni-Giocattoli).

  Xavier Tondo (Movistar) moved into the overall lead following his win in the stage four 19.5 kms time trial. However, Capecchi slid into fifth place, over one minute back. Stage five’s final 10 km ascent on the Mirador Del Sol saw Capecchi’s teammate Cristiano Salerno ride into second place on the stage from an all-day breakaway that succeeded to the finish line. Capecchi placed 12th on the stage. Although he move up one spot into fourth in the overall, he remains 1:28 minutes behind Tondo heading into the queen stage six.

  “I think it was better for Salerno on stage five because he is a good climber,” Zanatta said. “The Argentine rider who won knew the climb very well. But a second place in a stage is very good for him because it is his first year here so it was a good result for him.”

  The race is not over yet with the queen stage six still to come, over a 193 km course that boasts two lengthy category one ascents. The first climb is located mid-race on the Alto de Nogoli and the second will greet the peloton during the final 20 km of the race up to La Carolina. The stage could offer Liquigas-Cannondale’s climbers a possible stage win and a chance to move up onto the podium in the overall classification.

  “We lost more seconds to Tondo and Serpa in stage five,” Zanatta said. “I think stage six will be good for Capecchi because it is a lot of climbing. It will be good to see how he does in that stage.”

  Liquigas-Cannondale arrived to Argentina one week prior to the start of the Tour de San Luis. Zanatta is pleased with the level of training the event offered his riders as they head back to Europe next week.

  “This was a good training-type event for Liquigas,” Zanatta said. “We had 15 days of very good training in the sun. For our team it is good to return to Europe and continue this form into our next races.”
   

• Grivko sees no difference at Astana without Contador

  

  Article published:

  January 22, 2011, 15:54

  By:

  Jean-François Quénet

  Ukrainian gears up for French programme in Australia

  Known as one of the most dedicated team players in professional cycling today, Ukraine’s Andriy Grivko has chosen to build the foundations for his second season with Astana at the Santos Tour Down Under.

  While many teams and riders are already obsessed with scoring points for the World Tour or the UCI sporting evaluation system, Grivko admits he’s in Australia mostly for training.

  “We know it’s important but we don’t feel any pressure at Astana to score points,” the man from Simferopol said. He used to initiate breakaways in every single race he took part in but he doesn’t waste as much energy with no profit any more. Alongside Jens Voigt and Sylvain Chavanel, Grivko was the fourth and least-known man in the famous breakaway that gave Oscar Pereiro a thirty minute bonus and the eventual overall victory at the 2006 Tour de France.

  “The Tour Down Under is a bit too closed and controlled for riders like me to get results,” he explained. “There are so many teams of sprinters! We’ve built our tactics here around Allan Davis. We just work for him. Maybe he doesn’t have the same brilliant form he had at the world championship (3rd) in October but he’s strong enough to win a stage. The finale of stage 3 in Stirling was probably the best for him but Andre Greipel sent him to the barriers while he was on the wheel of the boy from Rabobank (Michael Matthews).”

  A former rider with Domina Vacanze and Milram, Grivko was picked by Alexander Vinokourov for Astana after the 2009 season he spent with ISD-Neri. He rode both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France at the service of the Kazakh and Alberto Contador. The Spaniard has since left for Saxo Bank, and is currently awaiting a verdict on the positive test he returned for Clenbuterol at last year’s Tour.

  “I don’t see any difference now that Contador isn’t with us anymore,” Grivko told Cyclingnews. “Maybe we feel less pressure from media and fans but I hope it will be another year of many successes. I think we can perform just like last year. We have a strong team. We’re very serene.”

  Grivko will skip the Giro this year but the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana are on his calendar prior to the world championships, a race he has kept in his sights since he came fifth in Varese in 2008. “I’m on the French programme,” he said. “Our first big goal is Paris-Nice. Vinokourov, Roman Kreuziger and myself will do it with high ambitions. We heard there will be a time trial, which is good for us. We also feel this is our ‘home’ race. Our team’s headquarters are near Nice and a few of us live in Monaco.”

   

   

• Menchov targets Giro and Vuelta

  

  Article published:

  January 22, 2011, 19:06

  By:

  Barry Ryan

  Russian alters plans after Tour de France snub

  Denis Menchov will target overall victory at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España after learning that his Geox-TMC has not been invited to the Tour de France. The Russian also insisted that he envisages no problems in sharing the calendar with co-leader Carlos Sastre.

  “I like the Giro and then I’ll try and win the Vuelta also,” Menchov told Marca. Menchov won centenary edition of the Italian race in 2009, although his team is not yet guaranteed its place at this year’s event. With two Vueltas a España in his palmares, Menchov will also be hopeful that his squad can secure a berth there in August.

  However, not even the presence of 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre in the Geox-TMC roster, allied to Menchov’s own podium finish last year, could earn the team a place at this year’s Tour. Geox-TMC were also omitted from the line-ups for Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico in the past week, but an invitation to Milan-San Remo could be a positive sign for the team's Giro hopes.

  The squad’s seemingly limited race programme means that Menchov and Sastre will be forced to chase the same objectives, but Menchov is insistent that there will be no disagreements between them.

  “The fact that Sastre might have the same goals as me is not a problem,” he said. “We will ride as a team and from time to time we will decide who must help whom.

  “I know Carlos for years, although not very well. But we got along well and out relationship is growing day by day."

  Menchov joined Geox-TMC ahead of the 2011 season after a successful spell with Rabobank that yield three Grand Tour titles. In spite of a turbulent start at Mauro Gianetti’s squad, Menchov is adamant that he made the right move.

  “I’m very happy to be here,” he said. “It’s a good group that is working well.”

  Marca also reports that Menchov will begin his season at the Challenge Mallorca, before riding the Ruta del Sol, Tour of Catalonia and Tour de Romandie in preparation for the Giro.

• 2011 North American Handmade Bicycle Show set to go big in Austin, Texas

  

  Article published:

  January 22, 2011, 20:31

  By:

  James Huang, technical editor

  Record number of exhibitors for growing show

  The seventh annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show is set to kick off February 25-27 in Austin, Texas and even though the event is still several weeks out, it's already shaping up to the biggest and grandest iteration to date.

  According to show founder and director Don Walker, there are currently 150 exhibitors registered from around the globe including longtime industry icons such as Richard Sachs, Nick Crumpton, Dario Pegoretti, Independent Fabrication, Sycip Designs, and Vanilla Workshop, along with perennial crowd favorites such as Naked Bicycles, Black Sheep Fabrication, Engin Cycles, and DeSalvo Custom Cycles. More exhibitors are expected as the deadline looms and Walker estimates visitor attendance to approach 9,000.

  The previous record was set at the Portland, Oregon stop in 2008 with 150 exhibitors and 7,200 attendees. When the show debuted in 2005 there were just 23 exhibitors and only 700 people came through the door.

  This year's show will again be bolstered by a full schedule of seminars and workshops throughout the event and there will be a dedicated area for new builders who are just coming into the industry but have yet to prove their mettle on a bigger scale.

  Needless to say, Walker – himself an accomplished builder specializing in track frames – is pleased with the growth.

  "We had a great show in Richmond last year and that raised more awareness to what NAHBS is all about. If you take that and combine it with a great destination city like Austin, the dedicated cycling scene there and throughout Texas and you have a recipe for a tremendous show," he told us.

  "I believe the buzz around Austin is only a portion of what folks are thinking throughout the rest of the state. I have heard that there is a buzz in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, so I think that the rest of the state is going to converge on Austin and it will be a wild, bike filled weekend. I believe that the attendance will be close to 8500 or even 9000."

  "But at the end of the day, I still just want to make bikes," he continued. "It's a real passion of mine and getting into the show business was more by chance. I feel a ton of pride in the development of the show – it's like watching your child grow and do more amazing things before your very eyes daily."

  Additional publicity and aid is coming for NAHBS courtesy of Lance Armstrong's Austin bicycle shop, Mellow Johnny's, who is helping with gathering up volunteers, logistics, and general buzz building. The shop will also sponsor the official NAHBS party on Friday night, February 25, at local live music venue La Zona Rosa.

  "Putting on the show is obviously a tremendous undertaking for Don and his team, and we wanted to make sure that he knew we were willing to do whatever he needed from us," said Mellow Johnny's media contact Ted Arnold. "Once the announcement was made we moved into the next phases of planning like helping find volunteers, distributing posters in Austin and to other Texas bike shops.

  "There was also helping with the events that happen outside of show hours likes rides and parties. Starting last year we also went to work right away with our vendors that will be at the show to see about any collaboration or special projects. Most importantly, the show is a chance for us to show off our city, our shop, and the things that we think are great about bicycles."

  For more information, check out the official NAHBS web site.

• Quick Step presented with new financial backer

  

  Article published:

  January 22, 2011, 21:36

  By:

  Brecht Decaluwé

  Czech billionaire Bakala lines up with his new investment

  After some rough years, Quick Step's manager Patrick Lefevere finally rid his team of the financial thunderclouds that have been gathering since the title sponsor decided to scale back its investment. Czech billionaire Zdenek Bakala stepped in to secure the team's future with a sizeable financial injection through 2013.

  Lefevere and the Unilin Group, Quick Step's parent company, came to an agreement with Bakala where he provides financial support for 2011 and guarantees the operating costs of the team in 2012 and 2013.

  During the team's presentation on Friday during the Velo Follies fair in Kortrijk, Belgium, Lefevere looked to the past and the future.

  "This was the boost that I needed as now there's fresh air blowing in our team. I hated it when people asked me about 2012 while we were still in 2010. Now I can say the team's future is secured. Mr. Bakala has the money to guarantee that we can continue to ride on for the next three years, even without having a new main sponsor. That's not to be underestimated because some teams showed that it's not easy to find a main sponsor," Lefevere said.

  Bakala will secure the financial future of the team, much in the way Bob Stapleton did for team High Road in 2007 when sponsor T-Mobile stepped away from cycling, or the way Flavio Becca financed Leopard Trek.

  For most of the 2010 season Lefevere searched for a new main sponsor to bring the team's budget to a higher level as sponsor Quick Step wanted to take a step back. Quick Step will remain in the title spot until that moment arrives, but he hopes Bakala's connections will revive the search.

  "I have blind confidence in this man. I guess that this is peanuts or maybe a hobby for him; probably half investment and half hobby," Lefevere said. "The man travels around the world and meets leaders of governments. His network sure should help to get in touch with another group of potential sponsors," Lefevere said.

  The financing scheme didn't come quickly enough for Lefevere for his team to narrowly avoided being relegated to the second division after being ranked outside the top 18 in the UCI's teams classification, but Lefevere said he will stick with the riders he has rather than use the new infusion of cash to purchase riders like those from Pegasus Sports, who do not have contracts.

  "The team's budget remains the same this year. I could spend my money on the riders who are available on the market, but with all respect to them, they're not the ones that I want. I prefer to work with the riders I have now and search for young talented riders."

  The focus on young riders comes after a summer's worth of hard work wooing sponsors went up in smoke after Alberto Contador's doping positive.

  "I was very close to clinching a deal with about five big companies. The Contador case ruined a lot for us. I didn't leave my couch for two days and when I stood up there were 50 pairs of eyes asking me what was going to happen. Due to the arrival of Mr. Bakala we know where we stand.

  "I still have to look into the UCI points system because last year I feared that we weren't going to make the cut to be a ProTour team. We rode well but didn't score points. I hope the system becomes more transparent because suddenly we tumbled from 15th to 18th place. Another factor was the ethical background of the team but Allan Davis was no longer in our team and Iljo Keisse... well, who am I to argue a judge; I'm not the UCI," Lefevere said.

  "I'm happy Mr. Bakala allows me to develop a young team. It's up to us to make sure these people don't leave in two or three years, disgusted by the sport," Lefevere said.

  About the backer Bakala

  Self-made billionaire Bakala will own 70 percent of the team in the new agreement, while Lefevere keeps 20 percent of the shares. Bakala's business partner and friend Bessel Kok bought a 10 percent share. The 70 year-old naturalized Belgian who resides in Prague, Czech Republic played a key role in this deal and he becomes the president of the board. Other members of the board are cycling legend and bike sponsor Eddy Merckx, current title sponsor Frans De Cock from Unilin, Dutch media tycoon Derk Sauer and Patrick Lefevere who remains in position as CEO.

  "People said I was reaching the end of my career but that's not true. I remain manager of the team but I'm no longer risking to lose all my money. I'll be better surrounded now. There will be a full-time marketing director. The budget remains what it was although I'm not going into details about on that subject. Last year I got angry when other teams claimed to have a top team for only €6,000,000. It made me look like a fool in front of my sponsors as they probably questioned what I was doing with their money. " Lefevere said.

  Bakala, married to Miss Czech Republic 1991 Michaela Malacova, escaped Czechoslovakian communism at age 19 in the 1980s by emigrating to the USA with $50 in his pocket. Climbing up from being a dishwasher in a Lake Tahoe casino to a man who graduated in Economics from Berkeley, he became a banker before returning to the newly formed Czech Republic and making fortune in the coal industry.

  Bakala currently travels between his house in Prague, his villa in the Sumava National Park and his residences in Geneva and Hilton Head, South Carolina. At the team's presentation in Kortrijk, the Czech investor flew in at the last minute to explain why he chose to invest in cycling.

  "I became passionate about the bike after seeing Eddy Merckx on television as a little boy. In spite of the weight I put on over Christmas I try to get on the bike as much as I possibly can. As both a passionate cycling fan and businessman, I strongly believe in the future of the sport.

  "There is a large gap between the immense popularity of professional cycle racing and its commercial potential. The number of spectators and cycling fans who followed last year's Tour de France easily compares with those who regularly follow Formula 1 motor racing or European football. But if we compare the investment and resources dedicated to these popular sports, it is clear that cycling has a long way to go. I am pleased to be able to make a modest contribution towards closing that gap," Bakala said.

  Bakala also explained why he choose this Belgian team while there are several teams out there searching for fresh money. "Most of my professional life I've worked with Belgian companies. KBC was a shareholder in my bank. Early on in my career I used to work for a bank where Bank Brussels Lambert had a stake. Since I had extremely good experiences with Belgian financial institutions it was time to join a team that happens to be an institution in the countries most popular sport," Bakala said.

  Being ranked 828th on Forbes' list of world's richest people with a net worth of $1.2 billion Bakala isn't spending his fortune in approximate €9500000 budget of the Quick Step team.

  The 49 year-old Czech hopes to see his compatriot and cyclo-cross World Champion, Zdenek Stybar, join the Quick Step team, but Bakala said their shared nationality isn't the main reason..

  "Our plan is to build up a team that will become one of the top five in the sport. I wouldn't want to build a team around nationalities but around talent. With talented riders it's better to get commercial results," said Bakala.

• Hunter bounces back after Pegasus fiasco

  

  Article published:

  January 22, 2011, 22:45

  By:

  Jean-François Quénet

  South African hopes RadioShack has a future

  Robert Hunter flew to Australia in November full of hopes for the Pegasus project he had joined after shortening his contract with Garmin-Transitions. One of the hopes was to take part in the Santos Tour Down Under as the start of a new adventure.

  From a personal point of view, he has made it a reality as he secured a last minute deal with RadioShack and replaced initial entrant Sébastien Rosseler, who was unable to compete in Australia, but the South African hasn’t fully overcome the shock of the Pegasus fiasco yet.

  “I’m deeply disappointed that the team didn’t happen,” Hunter told Cyclingnews in Adelaide prior to stage 5 of the Santos Tour Down Under, which he completed in sixth position. “It was a good idea. At the end of the day, I don’t know what to believe. I’m just happy to be racing in a ProTour team again. Probably after thirteen years as a pro, the fear of being left with no team is different than for someone who has only raced for two years.”

  Also a victim of the Pegasus fiasco, his compatriot Daryl Impey is still on the market, hoping to join a Pro Continental team some time soon. “When you talk to a team at Christmas, you hardly get the same contract and the same money as if you deal in May or June,” said Hunter, who dealt with Garmin’s team manager Jonathan Vaughters for the 2010 season several weeks before the official opening of the transfer window in 2009.

  “When I realized that Pegasus was not happening, I sent Lance a message,” Hunter explained. “He answered that he’d speak to Johan (Bruyneel) who confirmed to me that he was interested. When I got to know that Pegasus was for sure not happening, he gave the ok to make a deal.”

  So it happened with the other Robbie as well, and the late addition of fast finishers McEwen and Hunter has changed the philosophy of Bruyneel’s team. “During the years of US Postal and Discovery Channel, we never had a top sprinter,” said Armstrong who experienced riding at the service of a sprinter during the last international race of his career.

  “It’s been different racing with Lance this week than it would have been in the past,” Hunter continued. “He was not here to win the Tour Down Under. He had no personal ambition and he’s been pretty relaxed. It’s been good to have him setting up the sprints for myself and Robbie because people in the bunch have a lot of respect for him. Even if it’s his last race, he has helped Robbie get time bonuses and wear the leader’s jersey.”

  At the Taiwan Cup at the end of October, Hunter told Cyclingnews that he hoped to ride for the same team for the last four years he hopes to race before ending his career, as he didn’t want to change team anymore. Due to the circumstances, however, he’s now on a one-year contract.

  “I hope Team RadioShack continues,” he said. “I heard the sponsor is happy. Riders like [Dauphiné Libéré overall winner Janez] Brajkovic can win big races. There’s a lot of depth in the team even without Lance after this race here. Hopefully with myself and Robbie, this team can even get more wins than usual. If the team continues beyond this season, I’d be more than happy to stay.”

  The only African Tour de France stage winner so far (in Montpellier in 2007) is on the list of the provisional line up for RadioShack at the Grande Boucle, something that wouldn’t have been on his agenda this year, had he been a Pegasus rider in 2011.

• Wiggins taking a new approach for 2011

  

  Article published:

  January 22, 2011, 23:18

  By:

  Daniel Benson

  Less pressure for the Tour, no Giro on race programme

  Team Sky has a ‘whole different atmosphere' this year according to their Tour de France leader, Bradley Wiggins.

  Wiggins finished fourth in the 2009 Tour de France while riding for Garmin-Slipstream but moved to Team Sky for their inaugural season in 2010. Despite recording over twenty wins in the season they collectively misfired at the Tour, with Geraint Thomas arguably performing to and above expectations as Wiggins finished 24th overall.

  "I think we've learnt as a group and it's not about being anyone's fault it's just about the mistakes we made as a team," Wiggins told Cyclingnews at the team's camp in Mallorca, Spain.

  At the start of Sky's development, team manager Dave Brailsford stated that the goal was to win the Tour de France within five years and Wiggins' signing was seen as a crucial platform to that success. However, Wiggins admitted that too much emphasis had been placed on the Tour in 2010.

  "A year ago we set out on this path that we thought was right at the time but subsequently and with hindsight it wasn't. It's easy to look back and think that but at the time we were 100 per cent behind what we were doing," he said.

  "We made mistakes and we'll learn from them but it's a whole different atmosphere and feeling here now. Just from where we were last year, no one has even mentioned the Tour so far this year and we've not even got that far yet. Last year it was all about winning the Tour de France."

  Wiggins's relaxed demeanour stems from the new approach Team Sky have taken. The team are now more relaxed with the media and publicly less orientated around the Tour, with Wiggins believing that the mood within the camp at this stage of the season is a marked improvement from where the team were twelve months ago.

  Back then the team based themselves in Valancia for a training camp. The location was apparently chosen off the back of metrological studies – it would be warm and dry, apparently. However, the camp was marred by bad weather.

  This year Sky has camped out in Mallorca, a base the track squad has been using for over a decade, and the change has seen seasoned pros like Edvald Boasson Hagen, Juan Antonia Flecha and Jeremy Hunt, mix with the young track talent and academy athletes.

  Wiggins himself didn't pull on any Sky kit until earlier this week, instead spending the start of the year training with the track team. Beneficial for training purposes, it's also perhaps reinvigorated him, taking him away from the spotlight and allowing him to recreate the Garmin vibe he has admitted he thrived in.

  "It just feels like I'm on a British training camp to be honest. It's all the same sort of staff but it's a lot different to Valencia last year when we didn't know what the fuck was going on. No one knew each other and I'd just joined the team."

  "It's the first time I've been with team as I've been training with the track squad, so it's the first time I've had my Sky gear on all season."

  Race programme

  Kit and training locations aren't the only changes on Wiggins' agenda. This year he will alter his race programme of the last two seasons, dropping the Giro d'Italia, and racing a more traditional schedule before the Tour.

  "The only thing that's different is that I won't do the Giro, everything else is pretty much a standard start to the season. I'll do the classics this year which I didn't do last year too."

  During last year's Giro, Wiggins was sitting in the top ten after 14 stages, seventh in fact, but over the course of the final week he slipped back down the GC, giving up the opportunity to race for a possible top-five placing. During the first week eventual winner Ivan Basso commented privately on how strong Wiggins looked, often accelerating up and down the bunch to test his fitness. It all amounted to the behaviour of a rider looking towards the Tour and not considering his current position in the Giro to be of any importance.

  "I was seventh overall with a week to go in the Giro and sat up on the Zoncolan stage in GC thinking that it would be easier for the last week but it's just as hard riding up the Gavia whether or not you're behind the leaders or not and you look back and think perhaps I should have taken chances at the Giro and tried to go top ten but that was how much Tour de France consumed us.

  "It all became about the Tour whereas the year before when I was fourth in the Tour, I had no expectations of finishing fourth and was just riding things like Paris-Roubaix and all those races. I'll adopt a much more similar role this year in that sense. I was just so consumed by the Tour when in fact I was at the Giro which is a huge race in itself. Lesson learned."

  This season Wiggins will aim to hit form earlier and maintain it before taking a brief rest and then focusing on the Tour. Races like the Classics, Paris-Nice and either the Dauphine or Tour de Suisse will be important races with their own targets.

  "If last year had worked and we had got up there in the Tour perhaps it would have raised expectations whereas it's probably grounded us a bit and made us realise that it's not easy and that there's more to cycling than the Tour. This year though we've got such strength in the team now the new additions that we're covered right throughout the year."

  So what of this year's Tour de France? Wiggins will race for yellow and will be supported by a team that's reinforced with Spanish guile in Rigoberto Uran and Xabier Zandio and the experience and work-rate of Michael Rogers. Although he says he has not to have looked at the route yet, Wiggins will run reconnaissance later this year on some of the most critical stages.

  "At the end of the day you've either got the legs or you haven't, whether you've seen the route or not. I was fourth two years ago and I have to believe or try and explore that I can get back up there or surpass it. From finishing fourth I know that I can be in that ball park if I get my preparation right and even last year, having a dreadful Tour I was still 24th overall so I wasn't a million miles away."

  "There's a gaggle of riders, potentially eight to ten rider who can be up there. Lance Armstrong probably won't be there, Frank Schleck will, so there's a lot of riders but I've perhaps fallen back to being an underdog which I was two years ago, so I've got to prove that I can still be up there and I prefer it when it's got to be like that. The goal is to be up there, in that gaggle."