Wiggins believes people such as Paul Kimmage have become too personally invested in the Armstrong downfall
Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins has accused Irish journalist and former pro rider Paul Kimmage of being over involved in the Lance Armstrong story, saying he appears to be focusing his anger in an excessive way on the American.
The Team Sky man said while he would not be watching the interview with Lance Armstrong on Oprah Winfrey, he believed it would be a very big occasion in the lives of others, including Kimmage.
“I think for a lot of people it does (bring closure). There are a lot of people who are eaten up by it and very bitter over the whole situation. I think us as a team; it’s the last thing we are worried about because we are so concentrated on what we’re doing this year.”
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Wiggins continued talking about the Armstrong fall-out. He went on to refer to an interview Kimmage did last week with some international media outlets in which the Irishman questioned if many people believed the performance of Wiggins and his team during last year’s Tour was convincing.
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Said Wiggins: “You’ve seen the reaction to it (the Armstrong downfall) in the last few months and there’s a lot of angry people about that are taking their frustrations and venting their anger in different sorts of directions. I mean, we saw last week with Paul Kimmage and with me and the team. I mean, he’s just eaten up with it, you know. To people like that I think (the Oprah interview) is going to mean a hell of a lot. What they do with their lives after he does admit it is anyone’s guess, you know.
“A lot of people want that, they need that closure in their lives because they have been battling for so long for this. It will be a great day for a lot of people and quite a sad day for the sport in some ways. But I think it has been a sad couple of months for the sport. And that’s because the 90s are pretty much a write-off now.”
Kimmage took to Twitter today, Wednesday to reply to Wiggins’ interview. He said Wiggins was “still following the Lance Armstrong blueprint for success: 1 Ignore the message 2 Attack the messenger”. He also insisted Team Sky had questions to answer and if he had a job he would be “camped outside” the Team Sky training camp in Majorca ready to ask those questions.
Here’s Kimmage’s tweets, all sent in quick succession from 11am today
- Interesting that Bradley Wiggins is still following the Lance Armstrong blueprint for success: 1 Ignore the message 2 Attack the messenger
- It is one year tomorrow since I lost my job at The Sunday Times...profitable work this anti-doping.
- If I still had a job, I'd be camped outside the Sky training camp in Majorca and would not go away until Wiggins addressed the message...
- ...the hiring of Gert Leinders, and the sacking of four key members of staff since he won the Tour.
- Coming soon: An interview (not Oprah) with the greatest bike rider I ever saw (not Armstrong).
- Oh, last thing Bradley, if you would like to address those issues in an interview, I'd be more than happy to sit down with you.
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