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Team Wiggins starts taking shape with focus on Rio 2016

Steven Burke, Andy Tennant and Owain Doull among the riders expected to sign for new outfit

The domestic cycling team being launched by Sir Bradley Wiggins, which he hopes will underpin his attempt to win a fifth Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016, is reportedly taking shape.

According to Cycling Weekly, Team Wiggins will include several riders expected to play a role in the Team GB squad for the team pursuit at the next Olympics, in which Wiggins himself hopes to play a role.

Among them are Steven Burke, winner of team pursuit gold at both Beijing in 2008 and London 2012, plus Andy Tennant, who was the fifth member of the squad two years ago, but missed out on a medal because he did not ride in qualifying.

Also said to be joining the squad are track specialists Owain Doull and Mark Christian, who won the Madison at the UCI Track World Cup at Lee Valley Velodrome earlier this month, plus Jon Dibben, Daniel Patten and current mountain bike specialists Iain Paton and Michael Thompson.

The team, which will race at UCI Continental level and focus mainly on domestic races in Great Britain, will reportedly have a budget of £460,000, with Sky, Rapha and Pinarello all said to be among its backers.

Cycling Weekly says that the management will comprise Robert Dodds from XIX Entertainment, which represents Wiggins, riders’ agent Andrew McQuaid and sports director Simon Cope.

Wiggins himself has made Paris-Roubaix one of his main targets for 2015, and has also been linked to an attempt on the Hour record on Mallorca during the summer.

By then, he may well have switched across to his own team under UCI rules, which permit him to join it in June, as he enters the final year of his preparations for Rio.

Should he win a medal of any colour there, Wiggins would have eight – one more than Sir Chris Hoy, although the Scot’s British record of six golds is out of reach.

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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billiobob | 9 years ago
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The McQuaid legacy lives on! Darach McQuaid from Shadetree Sports is involved in setting up a Gran Fondo in Northern Ireland and negotiating for a 5 day professional tour. Interesting comment from dad Pat about Brian Cookson having to face up to reality about the Astana decision saying it shows the job is not as simple as was made out and watching to see if Cookson would be able to deliver on his promises to clean up cycling.

Brad to Shane Sutton: "Pick me Shane, I even have my own team"

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electricmud | 9 years ago
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I'm not a 100% sure this will help Brad get into the squad. There's already at least 6 guys, younger than him, vying for a spot. Granted, they're all going to be riding for his team next year, but that doesn't mean he'll get in. And add Ed Clancy to that list as well.

But they're already ingrained in the British Cycling team. Currently leading in the team pursuit in the World Cup, and heading towards Worlds in February.

Shane Sutton has said he'll pretty much have his team ready by the beginning of 2016, so not alot of time for Brad to make it.

Does anyone know if Geriant Thomas is sticking to the road for Rio? Or if he'll switch back to the track?

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Beefy | 9 years ago
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I thought Wiggo put personal funds in to the wiggle female team? I do get your point that sky could do the same

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Gkam84 replied to Beefy | 9 years ago
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Beefy wrote:

I thought Wiggo put personal funds in to the wiggle female team? I do get your point that sky could do the same

Not personal funds, he linked his "foundation" up with them, but that has been under investigation for a while.

From what I understand about this team, everyone but Brad is putting cash in and he'll be taking some out for using his name.

I just hope British Cycling are not putting money in, because it is just Sky's attempt to get Brad on the Rio 2016 team via an alternative route because he wasn't going to make it by just riding track for British Cycling

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farrell replied to Gkam84 | 9 years ago
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Gkam84 wrote:

Not personal funds, he linked his "foundation" up with them, but that has been under investigation for a while.

Under investigation by who?

Anyone with any real gravitas, or just faceless internutters with a chip on their shoulders about Brad Wiggins and his success?

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Ordinary Cyclin... | 9 years ago
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Disappointed to see no investment in a women's team. Hopefully this will follow in the not too distant future...

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