Wiggo needs luck of the Irish despite Roche claim

If Bradley Wiggins wins the Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double then this cycling reporter will ride up Alpe d’Huez naked – twice.

Such a sight for sore eyes is clearly something that has pricked the ears of Stephen Roche, one of seven riders to have achieved such a double in the same year.

The Irishman concedes this year’s Tour is probably better suited to Wiggins’ Sky team-mate Chris Froome than the defending champion because of the reduction in the number of time trial kilometres.

“But that doesn’t mean Sky believe Bradley can’t win it,” said Roche this week to Press Association Sport.

Roche himself believes by telling everyone Wiggins is planning his season around becoming the first British rider to win the Giro, Dave Brailsford and Sky are taking the pressure off the 32-year-old ahead of the defence of his yellow jersey.

“The Giro’s by no means a piece of cake. Just because he won the Tour last year doesn’t mean he’ll win the Giro this year.

“He’s capable of winning, but it must not be underestimated.

“If he wins the Giro or doesn’t win the Giro, he’ll still go out to win the Tour,” said Roche, who topped off a perfect 1987 with rainbow stripes after securing both the maglia rosa and maillot jaune.

“If he has it in his legs he’ll want to win it and logically, because he’s the outgoing winner, he will be the team leader.”

Somewhere in Corsica, as he recces some of the early Tour de France stages ahead of this weekend’s Criterium International, Froome would have a thing or two to say about that.

The 27-year-old Kenyan-born Brit, who put his own Tour aspirations on hold while helping teammate Wiggins to a victory in Paris last July, has been quite outspoken about his expectant role as undisputed team leader in this year’s Grande Boucle.

Wiggins, too, has been rather gracious in admitting it’s his turn to help his younger team-mate, who has this year won the Tour of Oman and finished runner-up to Vincenzo Nibali in Tirreno-Adriatico.

But we all know ‘Wiggo’ is a very proud and determined man; surely he won’t simple roll over and show disdain to the fabled yellow jersey by failing to try and bring it home once again?

The five-week gap between the Giro and the Grand Depart of the Tour in the Corsican city of Porto-Vecchio could act in Wiggins’ favour.

While Froome will be following a similar programme to that of his ‘rival’ last year – with the Tour of Romandie and the Dauphine on the cards – Wiggo can take his form from the Giro and condition himself accordingly.

“For me, it’s a win-win situation,” said Roche. “If he wins the Giro, he’ll be one up on everyone else mentally.

“If you don’t win it, you have the miles under your belt and the stamina, which will help you in the difficult days in the Tour.

“Winning the Giro and the Tour is possible and Bradley is one of the riders that can do it.”

This is where Roche and I disagree.

Such is the vast difference between the parcours of the Giro and Tour nowadays, it has become harder to peak for both races and come off with the pink and the yellow.

Last year, Wiggins won three stage races en route to the Tour – but these were one-week races where having a strong and dominant team like Sky can shave whole minutes off your overall time.

But winning successive three-week races in the modern era is something even Alberto Contador has failed to do – and the Spaniard is largely considered the best all-round rider of his generation.

I would go even further and say it is unlikely for Wiggins to win the Giro in May, let alone the double.

Wiggins is currently riding in the Volta a Catalunya, where he’s 36 seconds down on general classification to Roche’s nephew Dan Martin, who took a magnificent solo victory in the queen stage of the event on Thursday.

Wiggins looked lively in stage two, where he attacked on a descent and forced a split in the main pack, and trumped that a day later with an uncharacteristically large dig on the final climb of the day.

But on the deciding climb of stage four, Wiggins found himself losing time to the likes of Martin, Joaquim Rodriguez, stage three winner Nairo Quintana, Jurgen van den Broeck and even Robert Gesink.

It is early days, however, and Wiggins’ main rival for the maglia rosa – the defending champion Ryder Hesjedal – is currently considerably further down the GC in his own first major race back this season.

And yet this patchy-yet-partly-promising build up to the Giro is a far cry from Wiggins’ all-conquering route to the Tour podium on the Champs Elysees.

Last year, most people – Australians included – knew deep down a faltering Cadel Evans did not stand much of a chance in defending his Tour crown; most people – Britons like me included – can see Wiggins is not the same dominant force this year as last.

That said, Wiggins’ current form is hardly as wayward as Evans’ was last year – or even this year – while both riders seem like world-beaters in comparison to Andy Schleck, who this week was forced to dismiss reports he was drunk in a Munich hotel hours after withdrawing from Tirreno-Adriatico.

There is still time for Wiggins to shed the winter weight and reach his optimum levels. The attacking vigour he has shown in Catalonia is very promising – and a rider like Wiggins doesn’t simply lose the hunger once he’s won a gold medal and received a knighthood.

Still, you’re not likely to see this cycling journalist ride up the famous switchbacks of Alpe d’Huez in his birthday suit later this year. Certainly not twice, and probably not even once.

A Wiggins Giro-Tour double is one of the most unlikely scenarios of the entire season; and simply to make the podium in a race as hard as the Giro will require the same luck of the Irish that shone upon Roche.