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Wiggins Tour win shows team unity

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Bradley Wiggins has done something unbelievable by winning the Tour de France, but I know he will be the first to recognise that he would not have been able to achieve his victory without a terrific team behind him.

Part of me wishes I had been there helping him, but I've got plenty more Tour years left in me and the London Olympics will only come once in my lifetime. Going for a second gold on the track was what I wanted to do.

I sent Mark Cavendish and Chris Froome a few texts of congratulations during the race and also texted Brad. I didn't get one back from him, though. He is not the best with a phone.

The Team Sky boys have had many training camps over the last year and have become a close-knit team. That has certainly helped them win the Tour.

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But it is not just about them. Yes, they have to ride the miles, but there is a massive team behind them looking after their bikes, food, travel and sleeping arrangements. With that kind of support, the riders can just concentrate on racing.

Team boss Dave Brailsford and sports director Sean Yates are the brains behind the operation, but there are others who play key roles.

Three or four mechanics look after the bikes and make sure they are ready for the next day's racing. They wash and check them over every night, sorting out any adjustments a rider might want, including wheels for a particular stage.

They can also adjust the gears, putting a 27 sprocket on if there is a steep climb the next day, for example.

There are two Jaguar support cars, with spare bikes on the roof for all the riders. Brad sometimes had two. There is also plenty of space inside for all the spare wheels that we get through.

The cars also hand out food and drink to the riders mid-stage. The 'soigneurs' make up close to 100 bottles of fluid a day, plus little sandwiches and cakes for our feed bags. They wash and dry our kit for us, too, and also give us a massage at the end of every day.

We have numerous physios and doctors to help deal with the post-race aches and pains, making sure we are ready to race the next day, and also have our own chef, Soren.

He works closely with our nutritionist, Nigel, to make sure we all get the right sorts of food, including fresh bread every morning.

We normally have porridge in the mornings and perhaps an omelette. We have energy bars and gels during the race, along with rice cakes and sandwiches to keep us going.

In the evenings, we tend to have pasta, chicken and sometimes fish. Soren tries to change the menu to keep it interesting and does an amazing job!

The food is always ready for us when we come down for dinner, which is nice as we get pretty hungry.

Then there is the team bus and its driver, Claudio!

Travelling on the bus can be fun but there is not much discussion after a day's racing unless someone has done something ridiculous or something major has happened.

Sometimes a rider may head off in the team car to get to the hotel quicker for a massage. The rest chill out in the bus and chat about a load of old rubbish like any normal person.

Brad is usually good fun with his impressions of everyone, from fellow riders to the chef and even team boss Dave. Bernie Eisel is also a pretty light-hearted guy. It is important to have people like that in the team so the atmosphere is not serious all the time.

Most of the time, everyone drifts off into their own little world and it can get quite quiet, particularly when you are into the second week of a big Tour. Everyone is so tired.

I am sure there are lots of exhausted bodies today, but the team's performance has been inspirational. It has certainly motivated Great Britain's track cycling team to do well at the Olympics.

I'll be back with another blog before my race in the team pursuit to let you know how my preparations have been going.


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