Froome attack almost made Wiggins quit the 2012 Tour

According to former Sky sports director Sean Yates, eventual winner Bradley Wiggins was very close to abandoning the 2012 Tour de France. Having been attacked by teammate Chris Froome on stage 11, he wrote a text message saying “I think it would be better for everyone if I went home."

Much has been said about the internal Sky rivalry between Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome during the 2012 Tour de France but now former Sky sports director Sean Yates adds further drama to the story. In his autobiography, Yates claims that Wiggins was willing to leave the race while wearing the yellow jersey.

The Times has had the chance to read Yates' book and now reveals that Wiggins “felt like Froomey had stabbed him in the back" when his teammate had attacked him on the mountain stage to La Toussuire. The eventual runner-up was ultimately asked to slow down to wait for his team captain but the episode had revealed a chink in the Wiggins armour and humiliated the race leader.

Having returned to the team hotel, Wiggins sent a text message saying “I think it would be better for everyone if I went home.” According to Yates, it was only thanks to him and team principal Dave Brailsford that Wiggins was persuaded to stay in the race.

Yates describes the team tactics for the stage as one that allowed Froome to attack inside the final 500m but the Kenyan-born Brit kept asking for permission to launch his move earlier before finally accelerating off the front. According to Yates, Brailsford whom he says has a “dislike of confrontation” did not take the day’s events up with Froome after the stage.

Yates left Sky at the end of last season, citing health and personal reasons, but many believed that it was related to the fallout of the USADA investigation into Lance Armstrong. Yates refused to have been involved in doping while at US Postal but a few weeks later his departure was announced.

In The Times, he claims that Brailsford  struggled to defend him against those accusation and - combined with health issues - this made him leave the team.

He is not overly impressed with the current Sky management.

“In general, this year especially, the guys running the team don’t know enough about bike-riding and a lot of the riders went into the Tour overtired," he said. "They are made to race too much, too long, too hard.”