Bradley Wiggins (Sky) lost close to 13kg when he transformed himself into a grand tour contender following the Beijing Olympics but now he is going in the completely opposite direction. The Brit is trying to add weight as he aspires to become the next world time trial champion.

It was a transformed Bradley Wiggins that turned up at the 2009 Giro d'Italia. Having lost a lot of weight since his gold-medal winning ride on the track at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Brit was suddenly able to stay with the climbers for much longer in the mountains. When he got to the Tour a few weeks later, he had lost even more weight and ended up taking a remarkable 4th place finish (which was later upgraded to 3rd due to the disqualification of Lance Armstrong).

Having seen his Giro hopes being dashed by illness, the Brit has set his sights on the world time trial championships and that has forced him to go in the completely opposite direction. He is now trying to add some weight ahead of his major September target.

"It's been a complete contrast because it was always a compromise training for time trials, as I had to be so light," Wiggins told The Independent.

"Now we've gone completely the other way and I've had to put weight on. That's been quite nice actually. Bizarre. My climbing is going to be affected massively by it. By the time I get to the worlds I'm going to be 7kg or 8kg heavier than when I won the Tour. I'll notice it. I noticed it in Poland. You're carrying extra weight. It's hard."

Wiggins is currently racing the Eneco Tour where he lost 3.50 in yesterday's first stage and has set his sights on the stage 5 time trial. The question now is whether he will ever get back to being a grand tour contender.

Starting at 14.00, you can follow Wiggins in the second stage of the Benelux Tour.