Bradley Wiggins's Tour de France training

Bradley Wiggins, Tour de France 2012, stage nine

A few years ago one of British Cycling's coaches, and now Team Sky's directeur sportifs, Rod Ellingworth, told me about a tick-box list he'd compiled that detailed what was needed to win the Tour de France.

It was made before Team Sky even came into being and it wasn't aimed at any particular rider, just an intellectual exercise, but one that could be used as and when the right rider and the right Tour came along. A lot of the work Wiggins and Sky's Tour de France team have done in Tenerife this year has been to do with making sure  those boxes are ticked.

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1