Bradley Wiggins has given the first indication yet that he feels he needs to change teams in order to fully realise his Tour de France ambitions.
In an interview for BBC TV’s coverage of the World Championships he refused to be drawn on whether he would be seeking to leave Garmin-Slipstream at the end of this season in order to join Team Sky.
But he said: “It’s a bit like trying to win the Champions League and to win the Champions League you go to Man United and I’m probably playing at Wigan at the moment. I’ll probably have to make that step to do it.”
It will do nothing to quieten speculation that Wiggins wants to leave Garmin for Team Sky this winter, despite having another year left on his contract. Regarding the speculation he added: “I’ll leave it to the experts. It’s unfortunate that. I’ve had a good time this year at Garmin but times have changed. I don’t know, the Tour changed everything for me really so we’ll see what happens.”
Meanwhile, Wiggins also hinted British Cycling were keen for him to defend his pursuit titles at the London Olympics in 2012. Earlier in the summer Wiggins cast doubt over whether he would go back to the track in the light of his fourth place finish in the Tour de France.
“I think I’ll always be back there in London defending my titles in the pursuit. Shane [Sutton, the British Cycling coach] tells me that, anyway. It’s quite far away to really think about it. A lot’s happened this year and it’s still sinking in, but I’d like to be there in London, defending my titles, going for number three [his third Olympic individual pursuit gold].”
Also speaking to the BBC, Team Sky’s principal Dave Brailsford said: “Key British riders may be under contract and we have to respect that.”