Dave Brailsford: will learn a lot from failure. PA Wire/Press Association Images
Le Tour
Brailsford seeks to learn from Tour disappointment
“The acid test for us this year is if we learn from what’s happened. If we don’t learn from it and keep on doing the same old thing, I think some serious questions could be asked.”
TEAM SKY MUST learn from the harsh lessons of their disastrous Tour de France campaign, according to team director Dave Brailsford.
Having won the previous two Tours, this one has not gone to plan for Sky, with defending champion Chris Froome forced to withdraw after three crashes in two days.
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His replacement as team leader, Richie Porte, then faltered on the 197.5-kilometre stage 13 – failing to keep pace with the other yellow jersey contenders to lose eight minutes and 48 seconds overall.
He sits over 16 minutes behind Astana’s general classification leader Vincenzo Nibali, and Brailsford knows the team must make marked improvements.
“[Froome is] certainly one of our best riders, he’s won the Tour de France before and I honestly think he’d have won it this year,” he said today, a rest day at the Tour.
“What has happened to us in this year’s Tour has shown just how hard it is to win this race. It’s given us some real perspective. Nothing is guaranteed in sport and the moment you think you can rock up and automatically perform is the moment that it will kick you up the a***.”
Their struggles in this year’s Tour stand in stark contrast to 2012 and 2013, when Bradley Wiggins and Froome each enjoyed success. With a third successive win looking increasingly unlikely, Brailsford feels the team will learn more from this year’s efforts regardless.
“When it’s going well, it’s relatively easy, it’s enjoyable and everybody is bouncing with energy,” he added. “But when it doesn’t go plan, it’s a challenging scenario and a challenging environment.
“That’s when you see someone’s real character. And if I’m honest, you do learn more from failure than success.
“The acid test for us this year is if we learn from what’s happened. If we don’t learn from it and keep on doing the same old thing, I think some serious questions could be asked.”
Brailsford seeks to learn from Tour disappointment
TEAM SKY MUST learn from the harsh lessons of their disastrous Tour de France campaign, according to team director Dave Brailsford.
Having won the previous two Tours, this one has not gone to plan for Sky, with defending champion Chris Froome forced to withdraw after three crashes in two days.
His replacement as team leader, Richie Porte, then faltered on the 197.5-kilometre stage 13 – failing to keep pace with the other yellow jersey contenders to lose eight minutes and 48 seconds overall.
He sits over 16 minutes behind Astana’s general classification leader Vincenzo Nibali, and Brailsford knows the team must make marked improvements.
“[Froome is] certainly one of our best riders, he’s won the Tour de France before and I honestly think he’d have won it this year,” he said today, a rest day at the Tour.
“What has happened to us in this year’s Tour has shown just how hard it is to win this race. It’s given us some real perspective. Nothing is guaranteed in sport and the moment you think you can rock up and automatically perform is the moment that it will kick you up the a***.”
Their struggles in this year’s Tour stand in stark contrast to 2012 and 2013, when Bradley Wiggins and Froome each enjoyed success. With a third successive win looking increasingly unlikely, Brailsford feels the team will learn more from this year’s efforts regardless.
“When it’s going well, it’s relatively easy, it’s enjoyable and everybody is bouncing with energy,” he added. “But when it doesn’t go plan, it’s a challenging scenario and a challenging environment.
“The acid test for us this year is if we learn from what’s happened. If we don’t learn from it and keep on doing the same old thing, I think some serious questions could be asked.”
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Christopher Froome Cycling Dave Brailsford Le Tour Tour de France