Wiggins ready to enter Tour of Britain
Shortly after the team's withdrawal from this year's Vuelta a Espana, Bradley Wiggins is preparing to lead Team Sky in the Tour of Britain, which starts this week.
On Saturday, Team Sky announced its withdrawal from the Vuelta following the tragic death of Txema Gonzalez, the team's soigneur, the day before.
This Saturday, only a week after the withdrawal, Team Sky will enter the Tour of Britain, led by home favourite Bradley Wiggins.
Wiggins well-prepared
Wiggins, a two-time Olympic gold medallist who finished 24th in this year's Tour de France, has prepared meticulously for the event. On Sunday, he claimed a gold medal at the British National Time Trial Championships.
“I’ve trained well since the Tour and got myself together,” Wiggins told the press ahead of the race. "I’m looking forward to going to the Tour of Britain and racing it and just enjoying it as well. I’m looking forward to getting back to racing and just enjoying riding the bike. I think that’s the overriding thing.”
Geraint Thomas, Steve Cummings, Greg Henderson, Matthew Hatman and Russell Downing will be supporting Wiggins' bid in the race.
Making use of a UCI rule that allows teams to ride in a customized kit for one event per season, Team Sky will be riding in the Rainforest Rescue Kit to support the fight against deforestation in the Amazon.
Set to improve on Tour performance
Wiggins will be eager to put this year's disappointing Tour de France performance behind him during the race. The 30 year-old, who finished fourth overall in last year's Tour, had originally hoped to improve on that performance.
“From my own personal point of view, it was a disappointing race. It was tough to be at, tough to be in the limelight when you’re performing like that. That was very difficult because obviously you’ve got to face the press every day. I wasn’t happy being there."
The Tour of Britain begins on Saturday, with Stage 1 taking riders from Rochdale to Blackpool in the northwest of England.
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