Wiggins Breaks His Silence

After the heady heights of 2012, Bradley Wiggins has struggled to find the form needed to perform well in stage races this year. Although there was a lot of talk about him winning the Giro d'Italia and then riding at the Tour de France, it would appear that Wiggo has lost the motivation to challenge at the front. It appears that he still has goals he would like to achieve, such as the world time trial championships, but admits his priorities have changed and that he isn't prepared to make the same sacrifices that enabled him to win the Tour de France. It is understandable, really, since he has been racing since he was a youngster, won races off and on the track, which ultimately culminated in his Tour de France win. He also has a young family, though, and it must be tough being away from home so much.

The Tour de France is the most well known of the Grand Tours and is the race every professsional cyclist would love to win, so once you've won that it must be hard to find keep the momentum going, especially when you're nearing the end of your career. Whereas Chris Froome has stated winning the yellow jersey at the Tour de France would be his main goal for years to come, Wiggins doesn't appear to have the same passion to repeat his Tour win. Of course, it must be hard for any rider at Team Sky to acquire the role of team leader when there are so many talented riders who are worthy of leading the team. It is impossible to untangle fact from fiction, but the media has a tendency to highlight Wiggo's supposed fragile mental state and the idea that he may not be the easiest athlete to work with.

Nothing can take away from the fact that Bradley Wiggins secured Team Sky their first Grand Tour victory and was the first Briton to win the Tour de France, though. It was clear that in 2012 Wiggins had the determination, motivation, and the right team to help him achieve his goals, but if the same level of passion isn't there, it is obviously going to be a struggle to stay at the top, especially when there are plenty of others who are more than ready to take his place. It's just a shame he didn't realise this before taking on the Giro d'Italia when it would appear that he wasn't in the right frame of mind right from the off. Perhaps if the weather had been better and he hadn't crashed, hurt his knee and developed a chest infection he would have had been up there, but if not, then perhaps he shouldn't have been team leader at all.

Mind you, after so much success it must be hard to face up to getting older and reaching the end of your career, especially when you are well-known figure in your country and the face of cycling to many. Whatever Wiggins does or does not achieve in future, nothing can take away from his impressive palmarès and the contribution he has made to helping cycling become more widely recognised in Britain. Wiggins seems to be a love him or loathe him character, but at the end of the day nothing can take away from the fact he is an amazing time trialist with a huge engine that has enabled him to win races that others can only dream of.