Wiggins All Smiles, And Feeling Confident
by Justin Davis
BELLEGARDE-SUR-VALSERINE, France, July 11, 2012 (AFP) – Tour de France
leader Bradley Wiggins has lashes out at critics who believe his and Team Sky’s
strong performances in the race are thanks in part to doping.
“There’s one reason I’m in this position and that’s because I’ve worked
hard,” Wiggins said Wednesday.
On Wednesday Wiggins took another step towards becoming Britain’s first
yellow jersey champion by defending his 1min 53sec lead on Australia’s
defending champion Cadel Evans on the first day in the Alps.
But his team’s performances in the hilly stages so far have prompted doubts
among some keen observers and critics of the sport.
A day after their formidable pace-setting on the hilltop finish to stage
seven gave Sky’s Chris Froome the win and Wiggins the race lead several posts
on the micro-blogging site Twitter questioned Team Sky’s performance.
The posts compared their displays of fast pace-setting with the US Postal
team of Lance Armstrong, the seven-time champion who has recently been charged
with being part of a major doping conspiracy.
A day after those posts, Wiggins let fly with a foul-mouthed tirade which,
if anything, did little to substantiate his claims they have nothing to hide.
Sky, however, have done little to show their transparency. At a
per-organised press conference on Tuesday all journalists were told questions
on doping would not be tolerated or answered.
Ahead of the first of three days in the Alps Wednesday reports in the
French press even referred to Team Sky as ‘UK Postal’.
The first doping affair at the Tour — Frenchman Remy Di Gregorio was
arrested for allegedly trying to buy doping substances — has shown that
cheating, even in isolated cases, still exists.
But Wiggins, a three-time Olympic track champion who finished fourth in the
2009 race and was third at last year’s Tour of Spain, said the doubts about
him and his team are wide of the mark.
“I don’t feel that I should have to sit here and justify everything I’ve
done to the world,” he said.
“I’m not just some shit rider who’s come from nowhere.
“I’ve been six-times world champion (on the track), fourth in the Tour de
France, third in the Vuelta. It’s not like I’ve just come from nowhere.
“I’ve got an incredible pedigree behind me.”
Asked why he had lost his temper earlier this week when asked about doping
issues, he replied: “To me it’s them (critics) pissing all over everything
I’ve done, by saying, ‘yeah, he’s cheating’.
“That’s what really gets to me. Everyone in their individual jobs works
hard at what they do.
“Yeah, I’m in the yellow jersey and I’m inspiring kids in the UK to take up
cycling or whatever.
“But ultimately I’ve worked hard to be in this position and I deserve every
minute of what I’ve been through in this last week or so, especially after
sitting at home last year and watching it on the television.”
Wiggins, who crashed out on stage seven last year, said he has passed
dozens of tests by the anti-doping authorities.
“There’s one reason I’m in this position and that’s because I’ve worked
hard,” he added.
“I’m tested by the UCI (International Cycling Union) God knows how many
times a year, God knows how many times on this race and the Dauphine (race),
blood tested every morning.
“What more can I do ? I don’t know really ? I’d love to know.”
Photo: Corvos
