This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jul/14/bradley-wiggins-team-sky-signs-for-another-year

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Bradley Wiggins signs with Team Sky for another year despite Tour snub Bradley Wiggins in discussion over new one-year deal with Team Sky
(about 1 hour later)
Bradley Wiggins has admitted that his career as Grand Tour contender is over after signing with Team Sky for another year. Instead the 2012 Tour de France winner is mulling over an attempt at the world hour record next year before going for gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Bradley Wiggins says his main targets next year will be an attempt on the world hour record and the Paris-Roubaix classic – not winning the Tour de France. However, a report in La Gazzetta dello Sport that he has signed for Sky for 2015 is premature. Discussions are ongoing, but it is understood that a deal is unlikely to be finalised until the autumn.
It marks a decisive change of direction for Wiggins, who had been courted by Orica GreenEdge and Garmin-Sharp after not being selected by Sky for this year’s Tour. He will still compete in Grand Tours but appears to accept that at 34, he no longer has realistic chances of making the podium. But Wiggins has not ruled out competing in the Tour next year – especially as Chris Froome’s crash last week has made Team Sky re-evaluate his importance in grand tours. At 34, Wiggins might not be Plan A anymore, but they realise his experience and class would have been invaluable this year.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Wiggins said “My time as a Grand Tour rider is over. I’ll still ride them but not to win them.” Wiggins, who won the Tour in 2012, is also not short of offers, having been courted by Orica GreenEdge and Garmin-Sharp after not being selected by Sky for this year’s Tour.
Wiggins, who was interviewed at the Pinarello Cycling Marathon event in Italy, added: “I’m thinking about the Hour Record. Not this year but I’ll try next year. And I’ll do it on these bikes because I’m going to stay at Sky.” Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, he said “I’m thinking about the Hour Record. Not this year but I’ll try next year”. He also expressed his desire to have another pop at Paris-Roubaix next April, after finishing ninth this year. “They’re the most beautiful roads, in the most fascinating race in the world: Roubaix,” he said. “I rode this year but next year I want to win it. It’ll be my big goal for 2015.”
He also expressed his desire to have another pop at Paris-Roubaix next April, after finishing ninth this year. “They’re the most beautiful roads, in the most fascinating race in the world: Roubaix,” he said. “I rode this year but next year I want to win it. It’ll be my big goal for 2015.” Sky’s team principal Dave Brailsford meanwhile has called Wiggins “a great champion who has been integral to the Sky story. We are keen to support him in the best way as he works towards his ultimate goal of achieving Olmypic success in Rio,” he added.
Sky’s team principal Dave Brailsford paid tribute to Wiggins, calling him “a great champion who has been integral to the Sky story. We are keen to support him in the best way as he works towards his ultimate goal of achieving Olympic success in Rio.” Wiggins has not raced in a Grand Tour since slipping out of the Giro D’Italia last May and did not go on Sky’s high-altitude training camp this year. He will ride in this year’s Vuelta e Espana after competing at the Commonwealth Games as a preparation his main goal of 2014: the world time championships.
In a sense, Wiggins comments are merely a statement of the inevitable. He has not raced in a Grand Tour since slipping out of the Giro D’Italia last May and did not go on Sky’s high-altitude training camp this year. He will ride in this year’s Vuelta e Espana after competing at the Commonwealth Games, but that will be used as a preparation for his main target this year: the world time championships. Meanwhile Wiggins believes that Vincenzo Nibali should be regarded as favourite for this year’s race. “I think Nibali will win the Tour, he’s my favourite,” he said. “If he goes as well as he did when he won the Giro last year, if he’s got the same condition, I think he’s unbeatable.”
Meanwhile, Wiggins believes that Vincenzo Nibali should be regarded as the man to beat in this year’s race. “I think Nibali will win the Tour, he’s my favourite,” he said. “If he goes as well as he did when he won the Giro last year, if he’s got the same condition, I think he’s unbeatable.”