stretches out in survival mode now. Team Sky has the same tactic as ever: high
steady pace, burn off as many as you can.
Today, though, Vincenzo Nibali is feeling defiant. He shoots ahead of Wiggins’s group and makes a break for glory with 12km left. He is asking Team Sky what they have. He goes and he goes
fast. Team Sky leave him be and pedal on. This is the Kerrison Way: react by not reacting, continue riding at an even tempo because that way you get to the top in the quickest time. So Plan A is
still operational. Richie Porte drops away leaving just Froome and Wiggins to implement it.
Froome pushes on. Wiggins follows, Frank Schleck and Cadel Evans trailing him. Froome, as usual, rides his bike in that almost boyish way, knees and elbows attached but separate from the torso,
head down, eyes constantly pointed at the road directly below. It works though. He hauls Nibali back in.
So it goes. Nip and tuck at the front. With just 6km left only Wiggins, Froome and Schleck have any chance of catching Nibali who has broken away again. Five kilometres to go and Froome is
working like a faithful sheepdog, dragging Wiggins back to the ambitious Nibali. This time Nibali appears genuinely spent.
Wiggins sits in behind Froome. Sliding uphill. Thus it shall be.
But suddenly Froome breaks. Leaning forward into the incline, accelerating. It is surprising and it is confusing. A sliver of madness in Team Sky’s bloodstream. Nibali gives chase. Wiggins
is left in yellow, forlornly climbing alone. In the team car, Sean Yates asks Froome had he Brad’s permission for this? What is going on, Froomey?
Finally Froome relents. He straightens in the saddle, slows and waits for Wiggins.
In the aftermath Brailsford and his team did what they do best. They controlled the controllables. What were beyond their reach were the storm clouds gathering on social media. Bradley
Wiggins’s wife Cath tweeted, pointedly thanking Michael Rogers and Richie Porte for ‘genuine selfless effort and true professionalism’.
Froome’s partner Michelle Cound tweeted that she found this ‘Typical’. That she was ‘beyond disappointed’. She added later, ‘If you want loyalty get a Froome
dog – a quality I value although being taken advantage of by others.’
There it lay. For their part, Wiggins and Froome did their best to varnish over the cracks in their relationship. Behind the scenes Wiggins, who at the best of times needs to be handled
sensitively, was saying that it might be best if he himself went home. In front of the microphones and cameras, Froome and Wiggins threw each other little bouquets of nice words.
There was one more hint of insurrection. On Stage Seventeen Froome appeared to go rogue again on the finish to the summit at Col de Peyresourde. This would be the last ascent of the entire Tour.
Wiggins just needed not to get left behind and, barring unprecedented catastrophe, the Tour de France was his.
But . . .
With 4km to go on a mini descent of the Col, Froome conferred with Wiggins. What was said is unclear, but with just over 3km to go Wiggins kicked on and Froome tucked in behind. To the onlooker
it looked as if Wiggins was drafting Froome to give him the chance to break after the stage leader Valverde. Froome left Wiggins behind and the lead group of eight riders shattered. Froome kept
going.
He took a glance back at Wiggins, however, and Wiggins didn’t look right. Valverde was catchable now. Froome seemed to urge Wiggins on but Wiggins’s head was in a different place. He
was about to seal the Tour. Froome kept urging him on. Wiggins kept declining.
To keep the pot boiling, Froome’s partner Michelle Cound tweeted three words: ‘DAMN IT GOOOOOOO.’ Froome decided not to abandon Wiggins, however, and sacrificed the stage by 19
seconds.
Nobody was impressed. Sean Yates told the media that Froome had a lot to learn. Froome noted that he thought that it had been an ideal stage for Team Sky to win. Wiggins
steady pace, burn off as many as you can.
Today, though, Vincenzo Nibali is feeling defiant. He shoots ahead of Wiggins’s group and makes a break for glory with 12km left. He is asking Team Sky what they have. He goes and he goes
fast. Team Sky leave him be and pedal on. This is the Kerrison Way: react by not reacting, continue riding at an even tempo because that way you get to the top in the quickest time. So Plan A is
still operational. Richie Porte drops away leaving just Froome and Wiggins to implement it.
Froome pushes on. Wiggins follows, Frank Schleck and Cadel Evans trailing him. Froome, as usual, rides his bike in that almost boyish way, knees and elbows attached but separate from the torso,
head down, eyes constantly pointed at the road directly below. It works though. He hauls Nibali back in.
So it goes. Nip and tuck at the front. With just 6km left only Wiggins, Froome and Schleck have any chance of catching Nibali who has broken away again. Five kilometres to go and Froome is
working like a faithful sheepdog, dragging Wiggins back to the ambitious Nibali. This time Nibali appears genuinely spent.
Wiggins sits in behind Froome. Sliding uphill. Thus it shall be.
But suddenly Froome breaks. Leaning forward into the incline, accelerating. It is surprising and it is confusing. A sliver of madness in Team Sky’s bloodstream. Nibali gives chase. Wiggins
is left in yellow, forlornly climbing alone. In the team car, Sean Yates asks Froome had he Brad’s permission for this? What is going on, Froomey?
Finally Froome relents. He straightens in the saddle, slows and waits for Wiggins.
In the aftermath Brailsford and his team did what they do best. They controlled the controllables. What were beyond their reach were the storm clouds gathering on social media. Bradley
Wiggins’s wife Cath tweeted, pointedly thanking Michael Rogers and Richie Porte for ‘genuine selfless effort and true professionalism’.
Froome’s partner Michelle Cound tweeted that she found this ‘Typical’. That she was ‘beyond disappointed’. She added later, ‘If you want loyalty get a Froome
dog – a quality I value although being taken advantage of by others.’
There it lay. For their part, Wiggins and Froome did their best to varnish over the cracks in their relationship. Behind the scenes Wiggins, who at the best of times needs to be handled
sensitively, was saying that it might be best if he himself went home. In front of the microphones and cameras, Froome and Wiggins threw each other little bouquets of nice words.
There was one more hint of insurrection. On Stage Seventeen Froome appeared to go rogue again on the finish to the summit at Col de Peyresourde. This would be the last ascent of the entire Tour.
Wiggins just needed not to get left behind and, barring unprecedented catastrophe, the Tour de France was his.
But . . .
With 4km to go on a mini descent of the Col, Froome conferred with Wiggins. What was said is unclear, but with just over 3km to go Wiggins kicked on and Froome tucked in behind. To the onlooker
it looked as if Wiggins was drafting Froome to give him the chance to break after the stage leader Valverde. Froome left Wiggins behind and the lead group of eight riders shattered. Froome kept
going.
He took a glance back at Wiggins, however, and Wiggins didn’t look right. Valverde was catchable now. Froome seemed to urge Wiggins on but Wiggins’s head was in a different place. He
was about to seal the Tour. Froome kept urging him on. Wiggins kept declining.
To keep the pot boiling, Froome’s partner Michelle Cound tweeted three words: ‘DAMN IT GOOOOOOO.’ Froome decided not to abandon Wiggins, however, and sacrificed the stage by 19
seconds.
Nobody was impressed. Sean Yates told the media that Froome had a lot to learn. Froome noted that he thought that it had been an ideal stage for Team Sky to win. Wiggins
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