Sky should let the handbrake off Chris Froome

I think yr getting a bit carried away. dont forget shortly before Froome was looking like he'd cracked and dropped to the back of the group. It always looks v impressive when a guy attacks off the front but usually soon after they get picked up again by the rest of the group and i expect thats what wudda happened if froome had kept going.

i take it you know cycling very well and don't just watch the TDF and other big events?

If that was the case then surely he would have @ least nabbed 2nd

the main reason for Sky's success has been they've targeted the tour and identified Wiggins as their best chance of winning it, if Froome decided to do his own thing all of a sudden (which just isnt going to happen) he'd also lose the support of the rest of the Sky team.

As others have said he struggled at times in the climb today and Wiggins took the front, cycling is a team sport.

Wiggins has looked good so far so why change things especially when he has over a 2 min lead and a TT to come at the end, it would be crazy and stupid to change things now when they're in such a strong position, if something does happen to Wiggins they have Froom nicely placed in 2nd.

Froome's attack was a bit naughty really

Froome may be sky leader for 2013 tour if Wiggo isnt bothered about defending. If he does defend Froome will prob be leader for 2014. He'll be 29 then so perfect age to win first tour

You guys have clearly watched a different stage from me today. You have a lot more confidence in Wiggins' climbing abilities than me

If Froome wasn't working day in day out for Wiggings, how much more energy would he have in the tank?  A lot, I imagine.  Feeling a bit sorry for him that he can't ride on his merits.  Deserves to lead a team.

Are you having a larf?

Would be interesting next week if Wiggins' lead came under serious threat from the other contenders? Would Sky let Froome attack if it looked like Bradley W might lose the tour? To be honest though the mountain stages don't look tough enough to put BW under real pressure.

Wow ... there is some naivety here. Just because Froome has a kick uphill on the steep stuff it doesn't make him as good as Wiggins over a three week tour. Froome can tt, but not as well as Brad and over 100km of tt the time gap would be significant. Brad's training numbers on Teide have always been better than Chris'. If they had not have been, Brailsford would have picked Chris to lead.

Froome has a kick uphill ... whoopy-do. Look at the whole picture.

to be fair there's obviously not a lot between wiggins and froome and you could argue that froome is capable of beating wiggins in a grand tour. but wiggins is 32 and froome is 27 so it makes sense for the sake of team harmony to have wiggo as the leader and win his tour. froome has time on his side to be the no.1 in the next few years.

* last post directed at HoD

I think the story is that Froome, in his first ever TdF attempt, and despite working very hard and unselfishly for his team leader, is second in GC, looks a class act and is a serious contendor in the future.  Especially when future Tours favour climbers ahead of TT specialists.

Indeed.

Non-story ?? - Its the main story of the Tour.

I was polite! Clay uses the word 'clearly' twice in the opening thread. I believe this is erroneous and demonstrates a naivety; it is far from clear. There is no way of comparing the two riders in mountain stages because both riders are doing what they have been told - Brad did crack in Vuelta for well documented reasons (lack of altitude training following broken collarbone). Today, the reason Froome attacked was down to the crowd noise; he heard Sean's radio message of "slow" as "go". Amusing, heh? Perhaps the only time you can compare them in competition is time trials. Wiggins leads 5 to 1. The one that Froome won was Vuelta last year (at altitude in 37 degrees where Brad openly admits he went out too quickly).

The fact remains that Wiggins is leader not on age or seniority but because his training numbers are better. I think a few pundits get carried away because of Froome doing such a tremendous job. Wiggins dragging the entire peloton round for the final lap in Denmark last year was immense.

Ozy - I do respect others but when you have contradictory views you have to be contradictory. I try to argue my point of view with facts and reasoned argument (as you have possibly seen in my other copious posts) but respect has to end somewhere when another's opinions are untenable. I have not resorted to name calling but I do believe that some of the comments above are naive ... but I respect all the posters as human beings who have an equal right to post and equal footing in the world. If i want to shun modern religion and pray to the big purple fluggy monster, I am sure you will respect my views on religion.

Peace and love......and athesism.

I didn't appreciate that your 'naivety' jab was directed at the original post...there was nothing to suggest in your post that it was.

And as regards the suggestion that Froome is clearly superior to Wiggins, someone with your knowledge of cycling, frankly doesn't need to bother defending that in detail.  The statement was 'clearly' either provocative or ill informed.  Or both.  But it did serve to initiate a discussion on how impressive Froome has been to date.

Are you American out of interest?

If i want to shun modern religion and pray to the big purple fluggy monster, I am sure you will respect my views on religion.

You eejit HoD. Everyone knows that the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the one true God, and that pirates are His acolytes.

watched today. CF was at the back for a long time in the Sky train.
His time will come Ullrich and Lemond won the best prize having to do an apprentice role. The later 3 times