Bradley Wiggins will be present at the start of the Tour of California. The former Tour de France winner, who is currenty trying to improve his shape for the Olympic Games, told Cyclingnews about his chances at the US race.

"This is only my second road race of the year. I don’t race on the road. I’m retired, but I get talked into doing a couple of races a year", he explained. Indeed, he has only had nine road race days in 2016. His best result is a 77th place at the Dubai Tour. "For the guys, it’s a big step up for them to be here. For me, I’m 12 kilos heavier than I was when I won the race, so I’m not going to be climbing with these guys anymore."

He does not know if he will have the legs to do a good time trial "I haven’t done a time trial for 14 months. I just pulled the bike out of the garage to check what chain ring is on it. We’ll see. I don’t know. Twelve kilos is a lot to be carrying around. It’s like a carrying a small baby on your back."