Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky was mainly focused on his short-term goals including the Paris-Roubaix and Tour de France participation as well as his relentless will to offer truly selfless support to his leaders wherever possible in the interview for Gazzetta dello Sport published yesterday. Seemingly reflective after his individual time trial in Tirreno-Adriatico, the four time Olympic champion concentrated this time on his career seen in a longer perspective, hinting that his eventual participation in the French grand Tour might be the untimate one before he would redirect his ambitions to the track racing for a last time.
Once again the former Tour de France champion emphasized how important it is for a British rider to participate in the edition of the French grand tour starting on home soil, particularly in Leeds. Even though he made it absolutely clear he won’t challenge Christopher Froome to recapture the leading role within the Team Sky ranks for that event, this time he enigmatically suggested that he would certainly hope for good results given the fact that this Tour is very likely to become his final one.
"After the Tour de France, we're 18 months out from the Olympics and that's really when you've got to get back on the (track) programme. It could be that this is my last Tour. If it is, I'd better make it a good one," he told Cyclingnews, with his usual self-effacing irony.
Apparently at the age of 33, Wiggins started to carefully plan his last campaigns both on the road and track, willing to leave his final marks before retiring instead of rolling at the back of the peloton for a couple more years in an uninspiring role of a shadow of his former self.
Thus, the Team Sky rider confirmed his readiness to sacrifice his ambitions connected with the road racing, including few more tries with the French grand tour, to redirect his focus to the track program just after this year’s Tour de France edition comes to an end.
"It's likely I'll be on Team Sky for the next couple of years, even if I'm on the track programme, because that's what the team was created for: to help the track guys. But in what capacity I will race could change drastically as I put on more weight for the track and specialise for it," he explained.
In the interview for Gazzetta dello Sport Wiggins acknowledges it would take some effort to make it back to the British national team before the next Olympic Games, but apparently he took some time to study more carefully their latest results from the Track World Championships held in Colombia last month to change his mind so definitely..
"I think I can get in the team. Look at what they did in the Worlds. I don’t think it's going to be a tough team to crack into," he explained.
"It'll need a few guys coming back, people like Pete Kennaugh and others but perhaps Geraint won't come back because his road stuff is coming on so well. But I'm not going to take it lightly. I could even be back on the track this winter for the qualification process."
As some indirect yet fierce dialogue between Wiggins and Cancellara heats on after the former admitted that Paris-Roubaix is one of his major goals, 33-year old Briton didn’t restrain himself from sharing some reflections about the Hour Record attempts.
"I don't think so," he told Cyclingnews. "It's something I could look at doing but I haven't given it any thought. The thought of riding around the track for an hour doesn't do anything for me."
"I remember seeing Boardman do it in 2000 and it looked horrible and not something you'd take on lightly. Especially if you have to sit in that traditional position."
"Just to warrant the time it needs makes it so difficult. There's so much other stuff going on. I think the only way to do it is to come off the Tour de France and treat it like the Olympic time trial. As a project you'd have to dedicate eight to ten weeks and I think it'd be difficult for riders to do."
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