While the decision to leave the 2013 Tour de France champion, Bradley Wiggins, off the team for next week's Grand Boucle, was already well known, things came a bit dicey for team SKY and defending champion Chris Froome. Froome had crashed earlier in the pre-Tour warm up, the Criterium Dauphine, and was dropped by his main Tour rival, Alberto Contador, in the mountain stages after leading the race pre-crash.
The reason was Wiggins exceptional form a month before the Tour by winning the Tour of California, Froome's crash and because Wiggins agreed to an interview with SKY's media rival, the BBC, telling everybody that he was off the list in spite of the fact he wanted to be part of the Tour team.
Well, who wouldn't want to be a part of the team when the opening few stages of the race will be in your backyard, and you are undefeated champion? Remember, Wiggins didn't ride the last year to defend his crown so he technically is still undefeated. The first three stages of the Tour will be in England.
But all is water under the bridge now. SKY has released a statement announcing their Tour line-up sans Wiggins. It was said that the manager David Brailsford picked the team based on performance, not sentimentality. Sentimentality may bring emotion but not championships. We all know that Wiggins and Frrome haven't been on the same page since the 2012 Tour when Wiggins though that Froome tried to undermine him while Froome believed that he should have been given a free hand while in the service of the former as a domestique.
Three weeks ago, SKY's chance of a three-peat looked like it was in the bag. But today, there is a glimmer of hope for the other teams that they're not as strong as they used to be. If Froome fails to bring home the crown, I'm sure that heads will roll. But if they win, everything will be forgiven. Copacetic, as Gregg Popovich said.
Bike Lanes
I love bike lanes and I want to see it happen here in Cebu in my lifetime. I want bike lanes that really is exclusive for bikes, not the bike lanes that Marikina used to have. Make no mistake, I am a big fan for bike lanes.
However, I am not an advocate. Not yet.
One of my reasons is similar to what Mayor Mike Rama, Cebu City District Engineering District Fernando Cruz and Mactan Cebu International Airport General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete although I disagreed with the latter that bike lanes is worse for big cities.
But I want more than bike lanes. And I have said this in my columns, we won't need bike lanes if implementation of the law of the land, not just traffic laws, is done on a daily basis. Awareness that all of the laws will be implemented to the fullest will solve all of our problems, not just bike lanes. This is what we should tell Mayor Rama, Engr.Cruz Mr. Villarete.
Call me a dreamer but I don't dream of bike lanes per se, I dream of the bigger picture.
Finally, I'm not a boxing expert, but I think that the referee shouldn't have stopped the fight between Jason Pagara and Mario Meraz…