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Geraint Thomas says Bradley Wiggins was courting publicity with Lance Armstrong comments

Tour de France champion points out that former team-mate who described Armstrong as "perfect" winner "has a book to sell"...

Geraint Thomas says his former Team Sky and Great Britain team-mate Sir Bradley Wiggins was looking for publicity when he described disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong as “the perfect” Tour de France winner.

Wiggins’ comment, made in his recently published book Icons, were a reference to Tour de France founder Henri Desgrange’s notion of the ideal champion of the race.

> Bradley Wiggins’ comments about Lance Armstrong ‘not acceptable’ says head of UCI

Thomas, who won the yellow jersey in July, six years after Wiggins became the first British rider to win the race, was speaking after finishing second to Peter Sagan at the Tour de France Shanghai Criterium yesterday, reports AFP.

He pointed out: "Brad's got a book to sell. He does not have to worry about anything, either. He does not have to race his bike and deal with journalists.

"He can just say what he wants and do any interview he wants so he can say something like that and get a load of publicity."

In 2102, Armstrong was banned from the sport for life and stripped of the seven Tour de France titles he won between 1999 and 2005.

He still has the trophies presented to him, as he pointed out in a tweet to Thomas when the Welshman’s own trophy was stolen at the Cycle Show in Birmingham last month.

The Texan wrote: "G – bummer, dude. I got 7 of em if you wanna borrow one."

It’s an offer that Thomas declined. He said in Shanghai: “No, I'll leave that I think.”

Police have not yet recovered the trophy, and the Team Sky rider, who described the theft as “frustrating and disappointing, says he is “working on getting a replacement one."

He added: "But at the same time, I've got all the memories and the yellow jersey at home.

"But it's weird why someone would take that – it's not like you can sell it."

> Review: Icons by Bradley Wiggins

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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4 comments

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alansmurphy | 5 years ago
1 like

Are you sure they're the same person 1tal?

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1tal | 5 years ago
2 likes

Now now, you need to pull that jiffy bag from out your arse and calm down BehindTheBikesheds or should that be SirBWiggins.

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BehindTheBikesheds replied to 1tal | 5 years ago
0 likes

1tal wrote:

Now now, you need to pull that jiffy bag from out your arse and calm down BehindTheBikesheds or should that be SirBWiggins.

I'm glad you know your place, get tugging your forlock next time though Plebian!

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
1 like

So just like Alex Dowsett with his helmet comments, oh and your comments on the same subject right? Just like your hissy fit comments regarding your disgust at being told you weren't a protected rider in the TdF until later on, that wasn't trying to gain any publicity then, if not why make the comment right?
What's that, someone asked you a question and you answered it honestly, oh I see, so that's one rule for you and a different rule for Brad.
Fuck off man child, get your head around grown up concepts. Seriously now he thinks he's billy big bollocks he's coming out with some right dense thinking

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