Tour de France: In the run-up to the Tour of France, the 2012 winner, Bradley Wiggins, announced in a TV interview with the BBC that this year's tour will probably take place without him.
The tour kicks off in Yorkshire on July 5th. "As it currently looks", according to Wiggins, "I won't be there." The Brit stated that the team was being built around last year's winner Chris Froome. As the two haven't raced together this year, Wiggins doesn't believe in his participation,
"I am very disappointed", Wiggins continues. "I'll probably have to leave Team Sky [to be able to join a tour again]. "
Just a few weeks ago, Wiggins had won the Tour of California in an impressive manner. However, the yellow jersey he won there, he believes, will not get him onto the Tour team. “As last year’s winner [Chris Froome] call the shots when it comes to assembling the team. If no one drops out, I won't be there."
But Wiggins also pointed out that the final decision rests with team manager Dave Brailsford.
The team change he mentioned could well come about at the end of the year. His contract with Sky then ends. Both Orica-GreenEdge and Tinkoff-Saxo have already expressed interest. Oleg Tinkov underlined this again via Twitter after the interview.
How can Bradley Wiggins end up being in yellow jersey? Sign with @tinkoff_saxo and wear all year long 🙂
— Oleg Tinkov (@olegtinkov) June 6, 2014