• Tour de France

Brailsford wants Froome and Wiggins reunited in 2014

ESPN staff
July 22, 2013
Sir Bradley Wiggins has been in training since his withdrawal from the Giro d'Italia © AP
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Team Sky director Sir Dave Brailsford says it would be a joy to watch Sir Bradley Wiggins and Tour de France champion Chris Froome racing alongside one another at the 2014 Tour.

Froome succeeds Wiggins as winner of the Yellow Jersey, 12 months after Wiggins became the first Briton to win cycling's blue riband event.

But while friction between the two, and the question of who would be Team Sky's leader in France, dominated the build-up to the Tour until Wiggins' withdrawal through injury, Brailsford is hopeful that the champions will line up for Team Sky together next year.

"I'd like to see them both race the Tour next year, I must admit," Brailsford told ITV Sport. "Froomey and Brad in the same team, with your Pete Kennaughs, with your Geraint Thomases, with your Ian Stannards - put a team like that together, with Richie Porte and Sergio Henau, we've got a lot of talent. Boy oh boy, that'd be a joy to watch."

Confirming that a deal that keeps Froome with Sky until 2016 is "pretty much" signed, Brailsford added: "We shouldn't forget about Bradley, and the joy and the pleasure of his fantastic performance last year.

"He's training hard, he's getting ready for the Tour of Poland and the individual time trial at the world championships later this year."

Asked what the difference was between Wiggins' 2012 victory and Froome's triumph, Brailsford said: "This year was all about going on the attack for us, gaining time whenever we could and limiting losses where we had to.

"It's a different approach to last year, and in order to do that you need somebody who is actually ready to go out there and go on the attack. That's what we saw - but you can pay for it."

Froome paid tribute to his mother and his team-mates following his victory in Paris, and Brailsford added his congratulation to the likes of Kennaugh and Porte, who he earmarked as potential Grand Tour winners in years to come.

"We've got a fantastic crop of young guys - young team, this," Brailsford said.

"In order to win the GC [General Classification] you need a strong team behind you - you need potentially someone who could win the GC in the future. It's a case of managing that talent and making sure there's constant waves of talent just beneath the guy who's actually performing.

"That's quite a tricky thing to do, given the timings and their own individual desires for success.

"If we can keep the nucleus of this young team together - most of whom are British - then I think we've got some very exciting prospects for the future."

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