Surprised to hear a soundbite from Wiggo ,calling for helmets to be compulsery in relation to this story?
First bit yes - second bit, well unless things have changed since the story broke, it's just not clear from the article in question exactly what question Wiggins was answering and if, at the time, he was even aware of the tragedy. The story didn't hit Twitter until just before 9PM and c. 10PM on mainstream media.
Wiggo should have refused to answer the question out of respect for the deceased, rather than pander to media pressure.
It's entirely plausible that Wiggins was responding to a general question about cycling safety and not the accident in question.
He's proved he's quite a media-savvy guy during the tour, but also proved that he's happy to speak his mind and hold his own opinions. Compulsory helmet laws aside, I found it hard to disagree with his sentiments. We don't live in cycling utopia and I felt exactly the same exasperation with the guy no-handing along Broomhouse path trying to light up a cigarette and almost taking me off my bike, or the guy trying to text on a touch-screen along Slateford Road and missing the turn into Robbie Avenue as Wiggins does with cyclists more bothered in their iPod or wobbling dangerously on and off the road on a Boris bike.
At the end of the day, focus should not be on what Wiggins did or didn't say - the man is a professional cyclist, not a safety advocate or a campaigner. There was a rather wide analogy I read saying askign Wiggins about cycle safety is rather like asking Steve Redgrade for his opinion on Costa Concordia.
Also the helmet argument as other points out is also irrelevant - left-turning large vehicles are the biggest danger to cyclists on our roads. There's clearly almost minimal action being taken by our powers that be to make junction design safer. The focus should be on that - no amount of helmets will save you if you're dragged under wheels of a left-hook. It's a horrible fact, but it's true. Currently the only real way to avoid the scenario is to never risk going up the inside of a bus or LGV if there's any chance that the thing may be about to turn across you - and all too many people still persist in doing it, be it through ignorance or misplaced bravado.
The focus must be on cycling safety in the wider sense. Wiggins has ultimately stuck his head about the parapet and said he doesn't think that the status quo is safe. Our appalling cyclist road death statistics seem to support that point of view. It would be nice to be able to salvage something positive from a sad situation (not that I think you can trust the press to do it). If multi-Olympic medal winnning, most successful professional British cyclist thinks our roads are dangerous, make it a call to action for change.
As a footnote, Wiggins rode helmetless and no-handed on his TT bike down the finishing straight of the course yesterday, so he's clearly not averse to such things in a safe, controlled, traffic-free environment.
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