Bradley Wiggins (Sky) happy to be done with another long day(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
British champion Bradley Wiggins in 2011(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Bradley Wiggins (Sky) at the front of the bunch(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) builds his win around a solid time trial(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Bradley Wiggins has been named in the England team for the Commonwealth Games further fueling speculation that he will not be part of Team Sky's squad for this year's Tour de France.
Wiggins vented his disappointment and anger to French sports newspaper L'Equipe and the BBC last week, saying that he would not be selected to ride the Tour de France "as things stand" due to Froome preferring other riders to support him in his attempt to win a second yellow jersey. Team Sky manager Dave Brailsford has claimed that the team has not been finalized but it seems Wiggins knows he has little chance of lining up in Leeds for the Grand Depart on July 5.
It is likely that Wiggins will be busy training on the track in Manchester before riding the individual pursuit event at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and then possibly the time trial and road race events.
According to L'Equipe, Wiggins may struggle to be an overall contender at the Tour de Suisse because he has already started to work on his muscle bulk and strength needed for the track.
Wiggins is named alongside Stephen Cummings, Jon Dibben, Alex Dowsett, Tom Moses, Ian Stannard, Andy Tennant and Scott Thwaites for the England road squad for the Commonwealth Games. Only Steven Burke, Ed Clancy, Jon Dibben and Andy Tennant have been named for the men's track endurance squad, possibly leaving space for Wiggins.
Olympic champions Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell, Dani King, Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes have also been selected.
"We look at Brad on the track and he’s there now. We know he can step up alongside Ed and the boys and do the job. It's just a matter of touching the track every now and then over the next 12 months before we go into full-blown preparation," England team manager Shane Sutton told The Times, hinting that Wiggins could go on to ride for Britain on the track at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
