Wiggins says Boasson Hagen is the future of cycling

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Bradley Wiggins has seen the future of cycling and it is personified by Edvald Boasson Hagen. The British rider predicts that his younger Team Sky teammate will go on to dominate the sport, and should be able to win anything he puts his mind to.

He is “a rider who really represents cycling's future," Wiggins told Procycling.no. "Everything about him: his personality, work ethic, the way he does things and the knowledge that he is 100 percent pure."

In the future, he will dictate how the sport is seen. Edvald personifies everything about a true athlete, and he's going to be a legend in the sport.”

Wiggins went on to predict that the Norwegian would one day follow in the footsteps of his countryman Thor Hushovd and become world champion. But that is not all that Wiggins sees in his teammate's future. “On the list, you can include races like Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders, stages in the Tour de France and everything else you want to win as a cyclist. It's kind of scary. He can still choose to go the way of the classics or multi-stage events, and potentially win all the races he decides. His talent is that great, but he's still continuing to develop and find out where he best fits in the sport.”

Wiggins is glad to have the 23-year-old Norwegian on his team. “That we managed to sign him and made him feel confident in us was really big! Now he is in the system, we want to keep him for a long time. I think he likes the team and how it is managed. I also believe that we have not yet seen the best of him. He can do whatever he decides.”

Boasson Hagen will begin his 2011 season at the Tour of Oman, which he nearly won last year. He will then race most of the Spring Classics before building up for the Tour de France.