Bradley Wiggins has been ruled out of defending his Tour de France title because of a knee injury which has left him with insufficient time to train properly for the event, which starts on 28 June.
The 33-year-old triple Olympic gold medallist has an inflammation in his left knee dating back several weeks and Dave Brailsford, Team Sky's principal, has confirmed that Wiggins has yet to return to full training.
Wiggins consulted a specialist on Wednesday and was advised to take five days off his bike. That will leave him with insufficient time to be fit for the Tour of Switzerland, which starts on June 8th.
That in turn means he would start the Tour de France without sufficient racing in his legs to be competitive. Wiggins pulled out of the Giro d’Italia two weeks ago because of a chest infection.
Brailsford said: “With illness, injury and treatment Brad has gone past the point where he can be ready for the Tour. It’s a big loss but, given these circumstances, we won’t consider him for selection.
“He hasn’t been able to train hard since the Giro and now he needs further rest. Whilst we all know these things happen in sport, it doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a huge disappointment for everyone in the team - and above all for Brad.
“It’s incredibly sad to have the reigning champion at Team Sky but not lining up at the Tour. But he’s a champion, a formidable athlete and will come back winning as he has before.”
It is not unprecedented for a defending champion to be absent from the Tour but most often in recent years this has been due to drugs busts and it is rare for a minor injury such as this to be the cause because most teams bow to the obvious pressures that go with having the previous year's winner in their ranks.
Refused entry
Alberto Contador was not at the 2008 race, but that was after his Astana team was refused entry due to their drug-riddled past.
The last winner to be ruled out with injury was Stephen Roche in 1988.
Two years earlier Greg LeMond had missed out but his injuries were due to a shooting accident which left him close to death.
Prior to that, the four-times champion Bernard Hinault was unable to start the 1983 race due to tendinitis in the knee, and the same issue kept Laurent Fignon from a defence of his 1984 title.
But those injuries were so severe that they needed operations; Fignon for one was never the same again. Wiggins’s injury does not appear to be in that dimension.
Wiggins told Team Sky’s website: “It’s a huge disappointment not to make the Tour. I desperately wanted to be there, for the team and for all the fans along the way - but it’s not going to happen. I can’t train the way I need to train and I’m not going to be ready. Once you accept that, it’s almost a relief not having to worry about the injury and the race against time.
"I've been through this before, when I broke my collarbone, so I know how it works. I'll get this sorted, set new goals for this season and focus on those. Wiggins is now likely to build for a tilt at the Tour of Spain which runs from late August until mid-September.
Guardian Service
