Brailsford: Morale is Sky high ahead of Giro d'Italia

Image 1 of 5

Victory for Bradley Wiggins at the 2012 Tour de Romandie last weekend continued Team Sky's solid form beginning to the season, and team principal David Brailsford has stated that it will give his entire squad a real boost ahead of the 2012 Giro d'Italia, which starts in Denmark this Saturday.

Wiggins added the title in Romandie to his Paris-Nice win earlier in the year and Richie Porte has also claimed a stage race victory this season, at the Volta ao Algarve in February. In addition, the team has won two one-day races, courtesy of Mark Cavendish (Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne) and Lars Petter Nordhaug (at the Trofeo Deia), and 13 individual stage victories in 2012.

Team Sky's progress has delighted Brailsford and the 48-year-old Briton sees no reason why the squad's form can't be continued into the Grand Tours over the next few weeks and months. He had sent a particularly strong team over to Switzerland for the Tour de Romandie and while much of the pre-race talk surrounded Wiggins and Cavendish riding together for the first time in Team Sky colours, the performance of Geraint Thomas, who won the prologue only a few weeks after his exploits at the Track World Championships in Melbourne, was also heartening. Cavendish was tuning up in Romandie for his attack on the Giro and he performed his duties in support of Wiggins enthusiastically.

“I’m very happy and pleased with the week in Switzerland. Now it’s about moving on to the next one,” Brailsford said on the Team Sky website.

“There was a lot of discussion pre-race about Bradley and Mark riding together. Obviously that has been a positive and I think when you see Mark riding on the front up a second category climb it tells you more than any words can.

“Going into the Giro, it’s good that Mark and Geraint were there,” he continued. “Geraint worked really hard, topped off by a great start with the prologue. We know he is going superbly well on the track but I think you do need time to transfer and get your road legs back. The couple of days there will just set him up nicely for the Giro.

“I think we’ve got a strong team and morale will be high. It was a win for the entire team, not just the guys in Romandie, so I think it boosts everybody. I think they will start the Giro this weekend in a very good place.”