• Cycling

Wiggins pulls out of Tour of Britain

ESPN staff
September 14, 2012
Welsh cycling fans were hoping to see Bradley Wiggins following his Tour de France and Olympic triumphs this summer © Getty Images
Enlarge

Bradley Wiggins has pulled out of the Tour of Britain ahead of the sixth stage with a stomach bug, according to Team Sky.

The Olympic and Tour de France champion, who described his involvement in the eight-day race as his own Olympic parade after missing out on the celebrations in London on Monday, was playing a supporting role in the team for Mark Cavendish, who led the Tour before Thursday's fifth stage.

But a disastrous fiftjh stage has left Cavendish, the world champion, trailing the leaders with just three stages remaining.

Stage six brings the race to Wales, starting at Powis Castle in Welshpool before covering 118 miles en route to the finish at Caerphilly Castle.

Marc De Maar won the fifth stage of the Tour in Stoke-on-Trent as reigning world champion Cavendish finished some distance off the pace.

The Manxman dropped off the leading pack in the hills and, despite the efforts of Wiggins - who slowed to wait for Cavendish - and his team-mates, ended up losing nearly 12 minutes in the general classification.

Wiggins is next set to compete for Team Sky at the Road World Championships road race on September 23, where Cavendish will be defending his world title.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices