Former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins has revealed that he turned down an appearance on Strictly Come Dancing because he “didn’t fancy the lycra and sparkles”.

Wiggins is currently filming for Channel 4’s reality TV show The Jump, with the first episode airing a 19:30 on Sunday, and has revealed that he was approached by a number of other shows after retiring from professional cycling in December.

“Strictly and all that asked but this is the only one I would do,” Wiggins told The Sun.

>>> Bradley Wiggins taking part in The Jump so he doesn’t ‘get fat’

“I definitely don’t fancy putting on any Strictly Lycra and sparkles. People go skiing and hurt themselves all the time.”

The Jump, which features celebrities taking on a number of winter sports including ski jumping, downhill skiing, and bobsleigh, has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent years, with a string of serious injuries to the series’ contestants, including a broken neck for former Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle.