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Sir Dave Brailsford hopes Sky can keep Sir Bradley Wiggins

Team Sky boss hopes to find way to help Wiggins fulfil Olympic ambition

Sir Dave Brailsford says he is hopeful that Team Sky can keep Sir Bradley Wiggins despite the rider saying on Thursday that he is finished with road racing.

Speaking after he helped England take Commonwealth Games silver in the team pursuit in Glasgow, Wiggins, who has yet to sign a contract for next season, said he wanted to focus on aiming for a gold medal in that event at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

He recently said that his other remaining career goal was winning Paris-Roubaix, but on Thursday insistedthat he was “done” with road racing, saying that he had “bled it dry” and describing it as “quite cut-throat” and “political.”

He added: "The track feels more like a family and a closer-knit group of people."

Team Sky principal Brailsford told BBC Sport that Wiggins is “entitled to his opinion,” and that he hoped he would remain with the UCI WorldTour outfit.

"That's what we are discussing at the moment, to try to see if we can find this ideal scenario for Rio," he said.

Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh rode races including the Giro d’Italia for Sky in 2012 as part of their preparation for the London Olympics where they took gold in the team pursuit.

Brailsford, who stepped down from hsi role with British Cycling earlier this year, said that the success of Kennaugh and Thomas showed it was possible to combine road and track riding. "It's doable, that's for sure," he added.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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6 comments

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jason.timothy.jones | 9 years ago
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no reason Sky cant put a track squad together?

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robthehungrymonkey | 9 years ago
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I don't really see what Wiggins can offer TBH, when motivated we've seen what he can do. But, I can't see him being motivated for anything on the road. Maybe Paris Roubaix, but we've seen what he's like in the rain and in bad conditions...

I'd like to see Sky taking a more rounded approach. Saxo and OPQS both had great tours after loosing their leaders. Sky's was truly terrible.

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farrell replied to robthehungrymonkey | 9 years ago
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robthehungrymonkey wrote:

we've seen what he's like in the rain and in bad conditions...

Yes, yes we have: http://cdn1.coresites.mpora.com/rcuk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/CDF_2606...

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Abbie | 9 years ago
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He comes across as a Man driven from his Heart rather than Money.

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zanf | 9 years ago
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Keep him for what exactly?

Sky are only interested in GC, looked utterly lost after Froome abandoned and have no clue about telling their domestics to go for breakaways / stage wins when that happens.

The only reason why Wiggins world stay is money.

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antonio | 9 years ago
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Too little, too late?

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