Chris Froome is scheduled to lead Sky’s bid to win Tour de France for the second year running, principal Dave Brailsford said Monday.

Since Froome played a crucial role last year in helping teammate Bradley Wiggins become the first British rider to win cycling’s most coveted road race, speculation has been widespread as to which one of the riders would assume a commanding role in the Sky team for the 2013 edition.

Hitherto Sky had maintained its 2013 Tour de France challenge would be built around Froome, a strategy Wiggins, whose main aim for 2013 was to win the Giro d’Italia, seemed content to accept.

Recently, however, Wiggins suggested he was keen to take a shot the Giro-Tour double.

But in an attempt to defuse a potentially explosive split inside the team, Brailsford, in a statement posted on Sky’s website Monday, said Froome would be his team’s Tour de France leader.

“As always, the team selection is a management decision and it will be evidence-based,” he said. “However, it is crucial there is clarity of purpose and for that reason we will go to the Tour with one leader. Taking that into consideration and given Chris’ step up in performances this year, our plan, as it has been since January, is to have him lead the Tour de France team.”