Wiggins in Vuelta: "We’re in an amazing position"

Following the mountain ride of his life on the Covatilla on Sunday and a strong time trial performance on Monday, Bradley Wiggins says he could not be happier with how things have gone over the last 48 hours, both for himself and for Team Sky.

"A week ago, if anybody had said you'd be lying third after the time trial, who would believe it?" Wiggins told Cycling Weekly on the rest day.

"Having your team-mate leading is almost a luxury position for me to be in because it deflects the pressure I'd have in those stages."

"And now I'm there in the wings, ready to take over when necessary. It's a nice little problem for the team to have."

"I could be sitting here talking about having lost 20 minutes in time trial. Sitting here on the first rest day, third overall, it's a fantastic position to be in."

"Eight weeks ago I was in a hospital bed, lying there having had an operation, to come back from that with no racing and getting better and more stronger in the bunch, feeling more confident... it's great."

"It's all to play for now in the next two weeks."

Wiggins' highpoint of the week was on the Covatilla, where by ‘time trialling' on the climb and keeping a steady pace, he blew most of the field away.

"I've never been in that position before like I was on the Covatilla."

"Everybody was waiting for [Joaquin] Rodriguez (Katusha) to go for it, and he never did."

"It's a giant step forward."

Related links

Vuelta a Espana 2011: Cycling Weekly's coverage index