According to David Walsh's book "Inside Team Sky", Team Sky principal David Brailsford planned to use drastic measures to make sure that Bradley Wiggins would support Chris Froome in the 2013 Tour de France. The team leader was prepared to fine the defending champion if he refused to ride in service of his teammate.

There seems to be no end to the Wiggins and Froom soap opera that relates to the strained relationship of the two major British GC riders. Now it has been revealed that Team Sky principal David Brailsford was even ready to fine Wiggins to make sure that the duo would work together at the 2013 Tour de France.

The two riders have been at odds already since the 2011 Vuelta a Espana where they both finished on the podium and things deteriorated during Wiggins' triumphant ride at the 2012 Tour de France. On the stages to La Toussuire and Peyragudes, Froome was clearly stronger than his race-leading teammate and was seen gesticulating heavily on the latter stage.

Sports director Sean Yates has later revealed that Wiggins was prepared to leave the race after the first incident but he was convinced by the team management to stay and went on to win the race. A few weeks ago, it emerged that Wiggins had refused to pay Froome his part of the bonus that Wiggins had received by the team for winning the world's biggest race. Froome only received the money at this year's world championships in Florence - more than a year after the end of the race.

Now another aspect of the on-going soap opera has been revealed. In David Walsh's book "Inside Team Sky", Brailsford reveals that he was considering drastic measures to make sure that all were working together at this year's Tour.

The team had planned to ride for Froome in the French grand tour while Wiggins would target the Giro. Shortly before the start of the Italian grand tour, Wiggins did, however, indicate that he was targeting the Giro-Tour double, suggesting that the team would ride for the strongest rider.

Froome reacted promptly by issuing a statement where he claimed to have been promised a captaincy role. Brailsford was forced to back the Kenyan-born Brit, stating that Froome was the designated captain in the world's biggest race.

Wiggins abandoned the Giro due to illness and a knee injury later prevented him from riding the Tour, with the team announcing his absence nearly a month before the start. Hence, Brailsford's plans to have the duo line up as part of the same team were never turned into reality.

Nonetheless, Brailsford had already considered how he could guarantee that all riders were working towards the same goal. He planned to bring both men together and ask Wiggins – twice – to confirm he would ride for Froome, on the assumption the answer would be in the affirmative.

“Then I would say, ‘OK, if you don’t follow team orders we will agree to fine you three or four months’ wages’,” Brailsford explained.

He added: “This will be a significant amount of money, maybe as much as a few hundred thousand, and I believed it would concentrate Brad’s mind. I was then going to turn to Chris and say: ‘Right, Chris, if Brad goes against team orders, I’m going to give you that money.’�€Š”

The story about the delayed payment of the bonus also came out in Walsh's books. Originally, it had been reported that the money in question were the €450,000 for first place on GC paid to Team Sky for Wiggins’ victory but that wasn't true. Instead, it was about a £1 million bonus from the team itself.

As contractual details are not public, Froome had no idea that Wiggins had received any kind of bonus. He learnt from teammate and close friend Richie Porte that the Australian had received money from Wiggins.

However, Froome had not. “People don’t necessarily tell each other what bonus they have got. So we didn’t know for sure what the situation was," Froome's fiancée Michelle Cound says in the book. “We didn’t know what the other riders got. But Brad paid Chris nothing.”

“I don’t believe Brad ever intended to pay Chris the bonus," she added. "I think the reason he did is because he knew it was coming out in the book. Brad paying Chris really doesn’t mean that much. It’s about a lot more than the sum of money.”

Brailsford had planned to sort things out at the world championships where Wiggins and Froome would ride together for the first time since the Tour of Oman in February. However, that never happened.

“Chris was supposed to sit down with Brad before the worlds and it just never happened," Cound said.

The duo has another chance to improve their strained relationship this week when the team is gathered for its first training camp in Mallorca.