Bradley Wiggins' ambitions in the Tour of Britain have been dealt a huge blow. Ian Stannard has been forced to abandon the race, leaving the defending champion with just four riders at his side.

Ian Stannard has been forced to withdraw from the Tour of Britain as a result of the fractured scaphoid he sustained in a crash at the end of the opening stage.

Stannard was one of several riders who fell in the last 500 metres on Sunday, and although he was able to finish the stage, examinations overnight revealed the problem in his left wrist.

The injury compounds a difficult season for the 27 year old, who had only returned to racing last month after breaking his back in at Gent-Wevelgem in March.

Team Sky Race Doctor Phil Riley confirmed: “Ian has suffered a fractured scaphoid in his left wrist after his crash in Liverpool.

“He somersaulted off the bike after colliding with a fallen rider in front of him, and in an attempt to protect his back, he bore the brunt of the impact on his arms, which is a classic mechanism for an injury such as this.

“We brought a surgeon in to advise us on whether it was safe for Ian to continue, but it was too painful when he tried to ride this morning.

“The fact that he can't brake makes it impossible for him to ride and we don't want to risk the injury getting any worse. As such, we've taken the decision to withdraw him from the race. He will see the hand specialist again in the next few days and begin his rehabilitation.”

Stannard himself is massively disappointed at having to pull out of his home race but feels the decision is the right one.

He told TeamSky.com: “I was just getting back into some kind of form and enjoying the racing, so to suffer another break is very frustrating.

“I really wanted to continue riding but I can't use my brake properly and that means I'd be a liability to my team-mates and the other riders in the peloton.

“I love this race and I love riding in front of British fans. The Tour of Britain is getting bigger and better every season. Even the foreign guys look forward to riding this race nowadays because of the fantastic reception we receive.

“I'm going to see a hand surgeon today and we'll have a clearer idea on how serious it is after that. That's when the recovery process will start over and obviously I'll try to get racing again as soon as I can.”