That would certainly explain it - but he also lost time 2 days previous.

Today is described as medium mountains. Remind me never to go out on a ride with anyone who would describe today as 'medium mountains'.

He did, and when you add it all up it appears to make a pattern, but I'm not too sure there's one to see. It has been a far from comfortable first week though.

Wiggins has stacked it. He's in deep, deep trouble

It's been a far more enjoyable (and unpredictable) first week than I thought we were in store for.

I've had my suspicions about Wiggins form before the race even started. I suppose we'll know more soon enough.

Just tuned in - weather looks nice. Guess he went down due to the conditions.

Yep. Nibbles hit the tarmac too, but only after breaking away a bit, so managed to stay with the peloton.
If Sky did have a plan B, that's gone now with Henao and Urán waiting for Wiggins. Lost 90 seconds to the other main GC contenders.

Wiggins only hope is to put 4 minutes plus into his main GC rivals in the TT. He could do that with Nibbles but not Ryder.

My bet on Hesjadal is looking better today after that.

When will Sky learn that they need a 'plan B'?

It only looks like there is a plan B when plan A works. Wiggins wins Le Tour, but there's Froome next to him on the podium and they can say 'well if anything had happened to Brad, we'd have had someone able to take over'. They can keep telling themselves that, but it doesn't make it true. Urán's slipped 20 places today and is no longer in a position to take over as leader.

This is hilarious: https://twitter.com/ukcyclingexpert

This is hilarious: https://twitter.com/ukcyclingexpert

I can guarantee that if anything had happened to Brad they'd have sent Froome 'back' to look after him thereby taking care of Plans A & B in one fell swoop.

Some interesting chat coming out from David Walsh yesterday that Uran and Henao had been told to stay put and not to come back to pace Wiggo back to the group. Plans B & C finally coming out but not until both plans had been compromised pacing Wiggins back earlier in the week.

I've said right from the start that I'm not sure about Bradley Wiggins. He is not in the kind of condition he was in last year and I would not be surprised if we do not see him again after the rest day today.

However - it could of course be that he has been telling the truth about becoming more of an explosive climber and he is lulling everyone into a false sense of security.

Charlie Wegelius was suggesting that Wiggins has been suffering from the same thing Dario Cataldo was earlier in the week

I'd seen Vaughters saying the that Wegelius had mentioned this to him too.

He hasn't looked like Wiggins 2012 vintage at any point during 2013. Virus or no virus I think he's struggling to follow up 2012 and knowing how noisy his 'inner chimp' is I think he needs someone like Shane Sutton to start shouting at him again.

Maybe Sky do have a plan. Urán off the front - trying to break Nibali's foot-soldiers rather than the man himself, I fancy, but a shift from Business As Usual nonetheless.

Sky have a dilemma now Rigoberto or Brad, Uran looked good today but Brad finish Ok - much depends on Niboli and Evans and whether they can keep it up for two weeks.

Brad still looks OK as long as he doesn't have to go downhill in the rain!!

Unless (and this is a pretty big unless) Sky know something we don't about one of the climbs where they are confident that Brad can climb it at a far higher watts per kg than we have previously seen thereby putting a minute or more in Nibbles then I would say that that no dilemma exists.

I saw an interesting chat with Dave Brailsford after the stage yesterday where he said that they have to attack wherever they can. He wasn't playing down what Brad may or may not do.

I think that Uran is now plan A but I can't see him winning the whole thing.

Wiggins is cooked, losing gobs of time on the flattest of stages. If he is struggling with a chest infection this weather won't be helping any, but either way, he's done.
Urán the man now.

If Uran is the man then why did Sky only give him one man while sending back 6 men to look after Brad?

I appreciate that yesterday was a fairly innocuous stage but.......I remember a long conversation last year around Froomegate where Froome should have been sent up the road to win the stage but was ordered to stay where he was 'just in case' Brad needed him.

I think having Brad still there is no good for him or the team as whilst Brailsford might be saying he is the leader I think his team and his DS's still have loyalty to Brad.

4 stage wins for Cav - has there ever been a pure sprinter as good as him?

Oh - no doubt about it at all. Cav is the best sprinter I think the sport has ever seen.

I wouldn't bet against him winning stage 17 as the climb is far enough away from the end.

Boring stage yesterday in what should have been the Queen stage yesterday should have helped his legs recover along with the rest day today.

It's like one of the Classics today. Attack after attack after attack. Marvellous.

With Santambroggio in trouble the top 10 all smelled blood and finished him off.

Great white jersey battle between Betancuor and Majka. Nibali looked like he was maybe trying to finish off Cuddles and Uran too. Nibali has this in the bag barring disaster.

Red jersey battle is between Cuddles and Cav. Cav was playing down his chances today - it all depends how much Cuddles wants the red jersey because he could choose to attack on the final climb if Cav is around.

Yowsers. Proper hard-man effort from Visconti today.

not sure they have the points system right at all for the Giro, you need a decent incentive for sprinters as well as GC and mountains, evans could almost win the red jersey without really wanting to

My review.

The fight for GC didn't materialise but Nibali was a very worthy winner. Might have been a bit more interesting if Sky had realised from day 1 that Wiggins was not in the form he needed to be in and had a plan B in mind rather than sending Uran back to pace Wiggins back in the first week.

Cadel Evans looked good considering his lack of preparation (he was only flung in to try and get some form).

Batancour fulfilled some of the promise he'd shown in the Spring Classics. In fact - Columbian riders were very impressive all round.

Cav - well he went as the only OPQS plan and boy did he deliver. Very hard to win the points jersey at the Giro as a spinter and if the Saturday stage had not been cancelled then I'd argue he would not have won it anyway. 5 stage wins from 6 (ish) winnable sprint stages is a good record but........a lack of credible contenders made his job easier. Might be a bit trickier with Greipel, Kittel, Sagan etc at the Tour.

Overall. Not a bad Grand Tour but I can't help but feel that it lacked something. I didn't get overly excited about the race but then again Nibali had it won from early doors. A decent tit for tat GC battle really brings out the best in a Grand Tour and this just didn't have it.

Nibali's dominance was impressive, but the lack of anyone to really push him was disappointing and therefore made you look elsewhere for stories. Adam Hansen and Visconti's breakaway wins were great and it was a pretty good tour for Movistar. Shame they'll all be working that horrible nerk Valverde in France.
Dowsett's emergence as a real time-trial contender was good, and while Cav did exceptionally well to win the points classification, his battle was more with the system than any other rider. I can't see him getting green in France - fancy Sagan for that mainly due to picking up intermediate sprint points in the hills.