| Sky's team chief promises changes after 'humbling' Tour de France Dave Brailsford to bring in new riders, new backroom staff and a new way of doing things for Britain's top cycling team in 2011As Team Sky's first season in professional cycling drew to a close, the team principal Dave Brailsford today admitted that this year's Tour de France debut had been a "humbling" experience and said changes will be made to the way the team prepare for the 2011 event – as well as changes to rider roster and back-up staff, which are being kept secret."The key thing we've learned from a planning point of view is getting the right riders to the right races with the right goals. It's an obvious thing to say but it will be better next year. It's an experience thing. We've relied on the opinions of others and we've tried to have a broad church of opinion, to our detriment with certain team selections"Sky aimed high in their first season – too high for some observers – but as Brailsford points out: "If you want to do something worthwhile you win big or you lose big. You have to just put your neck on the line and be judged.""The Tour didn't go to plan for Brad [Bradley Wiggins], but that was the same for a lot of people. Geraint Thomas did perform very well, which can't be overlooked, and Thomas Lovkvist had a good Tour." Brailsford said the team are working on a different approach for Wiggins for next year. "He was under a lot of pressure, there was a weight of expectation which was hard for everyone.""The Tour was the biggest disappointment," Brailsford said. "The guys all gave it 100% but Edvald Boasson Hagen had lost two months racing before the Tour, Simon Gerrans crashed out, Brad's performance was where it was, and plan B didn't quite come off. But we're not going to hide, we're going to say what would we have done differently."Foremost among those changes will be Wiggins's programme: he is unlikely to race the Giro d'Italia before the Tour as he did this year. Brailsford said Sky had faced "not hostility but a closing of ranks" among other pro teams. "It's always going to be hard to come in at this level, a lot of people have been in this small world for a long time, but we've built relationships."There are many positives Sky can take from this year. The roadside support and hordes of enthusiastic fans thronging around their bus demonstrate that, whatever the setbacks in the Tour de France and the discussions over the team's tactics in the Tour of Britain, the public are buying into the idea of a British team racing at the highest level. "The enthusiasm is fantastic. There is a huge appetite in Britain for a team to get behind," Brailsford said.Although the British perception is that the Tour alone matters, Sky should finish this season in the top five teams in the world on victory count – although they will be well behind Mark Cavendish's all-conquering HTC-Columbia squad – despite missing the Tour of Spain. Brailsford said the team have stuck to their principle of being "100% clean, and it has worked well".Sky are not revealing who they will add to their roster next year. They have been linked with the Australian prospect Richie Porte, who lies third overall in the Tour of Britain after racing aggressively all week. The team need to sign at least one new directeur sportif to replace Scott Sunderland, who left mid-season.On the British front an obvious signing would be the young time-trial specialist Alex Dowsett, who briefly wore the yellow jersey in the Tour de l'Avenir – a mini Tour de France for under-23s – and who is in the Great Britain team for the world road championships. Dowsett was present at today's Tour of Britain finish as it is near his home in Essex, but he would not comment on his plans for 2011."The team will be stronger next year," Brailsford said, "and there are young guys – Ben Swift, Thomas, Peter Kennaugh, Ian Stannard, Boasson Hagen – that we want to develop as a group. They will be a formidable unit in future."As far as the recent past is concerned, he said: "If you could wind back the clock there are a lot of things we would do differently. The crime would be not to learn from it."Team SkyCyclingWilliam Fotheringhamguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Zambrano, Cubs knock Padres out of wild-card lead Carlos Zambrano won his seventh consecutive decision since rejoining Chicago's rotation, combining with two relievers on a four-hitter, and the ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
San Antonio nets pro soccer franchise The North American Soccer League (NASL) says it has granted an expansion franchise to San Antonio entrepreneur Gordon Hartman. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Defense helps Texas upset error-prone No. 4 Nebraska Garrett Gilbert ran for two touchdowns and Texas' defense shut down Taylor Martinez to lead the Longhorns to a 20-13 upset of No. 4 Nebraska ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Sun Sports cashes in on the chic Heat Sun Sports cashes in on the chic Heat feeds.bizjournals.com |