Forget footballers and tune in to the Tour (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Forget footballers and tune in to the Tour

5:19pm Monday 25th June 2012 in Bob Hart's cycling blog By Bob Hart, Web editor

ENGLAND’S exit from Euro 2012 may be disappointing for many, but it’s also timely.

Because it means this weekend English sports fans can give their full attention to cheering on Bradley Wiggins in the Tour de France’s prologue time trial.

If current form is anything to go by, Lancashire-based Wiggins could very well be pulling on the yellow jersey after completing Saturday’s 6.4km blast around the centre of Liege.

And hopefully he’ll still have the jersey when the race makes it to Paris three weeks later.

Our footballers could learn a great deal from Britain’s current stable of cyclists. While our footballers are better known for their exploits off the pitch, our bike riders can truly be judged on their results.

Mark Cavendish is currently Britain’s first world road champion since Tom Simpson in 1965.

Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton are global stars thanks to their feats at the velodrome. Brad Wiggins has completed his evolution to the status of world-class stage racer.

And British-based Sky Procycling has become the most dominant team in the peleton.

If you’re looking for professionalism, dedication, self-sacrifice and althleticism, look no further than British cyclists.

Add fantastic team organisation and a philosophy of taking a scientific approach to equipment and training and you’ve got a winning combination.

So forget about the footballers and our predictable quarter-final tournament exit .

If you want to feel proud of British sportsmen, tune in to the Tour for three weeks of drama and tension in the world’s greatest race.

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