John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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Have people forgotten who was runner up to Wiggins when he won? Does it really make any difference
Makes perfect sense to aim for a Froome/Wiggins (in no particular order again) double at the top of the podium again. At least that way you have a "spare" if one can't finish!
I'd like to see us dominate the event for years - not least to annoy the French...
all wiggins is good for now is fetching bottles for froome!!,
I really hope this saga is just put to bed so that Wiggins and Froome can ride together and it isn't a constant new story. Doubt it'll happen though
I think he'll be on the start line. I wouldn't be surprised to see him drop out at the first rest day though, once Froome has made it safely over the cobbles and up to la Planche des Belles Filles (where Wiggo got into yellow).
Cynic, moi?
They'll both play support.
Team Sky take it in turns to win and it's Richie Porte's turn this year!
Porte will be riding GC for Sky at the Giro. If he rides TdF (and I hope he does) he'll be carrying bottles.
Be good to see which of them outshines the other, and who is the super domestique
1990-2000 banesto
2001-2003 ibanesto.com
Who'd have thought it !!!!
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movistar_Team
Are you sure Simon....I hate to argue, but the internet wasn't even properly "born" in 1993...there were less than 1000 websites and I bet iBanesto.com was not one of them, nor the team name.
I believe that came into being around 98/99....
But anyway, I want to see Wiggo ride as a team leader, fail and let Froome show him up
by saying he wants to ride in 'whatever capacity' means he would be prepared to support another teammate - so I doubt this scenario would happen - as much as you might want it to.
But we'll see - he's been known to change his opinion!
I think Wiggins is capable of winning again if he had full team support behind him - but expecting that from Froome is very unlikely as he sees himself as the stronger rider. It was hard enough getting him to support when he was in a domestique role.
You could argue, why should either support the other if they're both in form - perhaps it could be a 'two leader' team? I think the public would love to see that but I doubt Sky would risk it to achieve the GC..
The cat and mouse nature of Grand Tour riding, won and lost by making attacks in the mountains definitely favour Froome over Wiggins. Doing a long TT stage would favour Wiggins over Froome. Ditto going for the hour record or other track events. Does that make either the 'better cyclist' - I would say no, they just have strengths in slightly different areas.
Technically, iBanesto.com in 1993, but commonly still referred to as Banesto
It was Banesto, I still have the cap, jersey and shorts.
A bit tight these days....
Delgado and Indurain rode for Banesto in '93. Sorry, I'm pedantic (and I was there)!