BRADLEY WIGGINS HAS been ruled out of this year’s Tour de France after succumbing to a knee injury picked up at the Giro d’Italia.
The reigning champion of Le Tour and London 2012 God Medallist is unable to train at peak levels due to an inflammation of the left knee so he has agreed with Team Sky to forgo the event, which begins on 29 June.
Wiggins told Sky Sports News, “It is a huge disappointment not to make the Tour. I desperately wanted be there, for the team and for all the fans along the way, but it is not going to happen.”
He added, “I have been through this before, when I broke my collarbone [in 2011], so I know how it works. I will get this sorted, set new goals for this season and focus on those.”
Team Sky supremo Dave Brailsford said he was ‘incredibly sad’ to lose Wiggins’ services for the event. He added, “[Wiggins] is a champion, a formidable athlete and will come back winning as he has before.”
The confirmation of Wiggins’ withdrawal will heap added pressure on Team Sky’s Chris Froome, who was the presumptive lead rider for this year’s race, despite his Tour-winning teammate’s protestations earlier this month.