Former champion Bradley Wiggins out of Sky’s Tour de France team

FORMER winner Bradley Wiggins was not included in the Sky team announced for this year’s Tour de France.

ABERGAVENNY, WALES - JUNE 26: Sir Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky and Great Britain in action during the Elite Men British National Time Trial Championships on June 26, 2014 in Abergavenny, Wales. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

FORMER winner Bradley Wiggins was not included in the Sky team announced for this year’s Tour de France.

Wiggins, who won the race in 2012 — the same year he took Olympic time-trial gold — had long been resigned to being omitted from a team now built around Chris Froome, last year’s Tour de France winner.

“It was a very tough decision,” Sky boss Dave Brailsford said when unveiling his squad.

“Bradley’s been a great champion, is a great champion — he’s been fundamental to the growth of cycling in this country.

“But my job is to look at the best probabilities to try to win, to picture somebody on that podium with the yellow jersey on the Champs Elysees and work back from there.

“You look at the riders you’ve got and think who’s the best placed to try and win, then you build a team based on evidence, based on logic — you try to take the emotion out of it.

“A star team will always beat a team of stars. I think that’s really important,” added Brailsford, who labelled Froome “the best stage race rider in the world”.

Earlier this month, Wiggins suffered a thigh injury following a crash during the Tour of Switzerland, having missed last year’s Tour due to a combination of a chest infection and a knee problem.

But Brailsford was adamant Wiggins, who has won seven Olympic medals including four golds, had a future with Sky.

“On this occasion, Bradley will miss out,” he said. “But it’s one race, there’s still the future and there’s a lot more racing in Bradley.”

Wiggins, who in winning the race two years ago became Britain’s first Tour de France champion, is now expected to turn his attention to competing at next month’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Froome will be supported by his long-time right hand man Richie Porte in a nine-strong team that also includes Geraint Thomas, Mikel Nieve, Bernhard Eisel, Vasil Kiryienka, David Lopez, Danny Pate and Xabier Zandio as Sky go for a hat-trick of Tour wins.