Wiggins says he's 'done with the road'

Sir Bradley Wiggins says he will not ride the Tour de France again after claiming that road racing is "cut-throat" with "no kind of loyalties".

The 34-year-old Englishman, who won the race in 2012, added: "I've kind of done the road now. I've bled it dry."

He said: "The road is quite cut-throat. The track feels more like a family and a closer-knit group of people."

Wiggins will now make track racing his priority as he targets gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

He has not ruled out doing some road events but said: "That will probably be it for the Grand Tours. I can't imagine doing that now."

Australia deny Wiggins pursuit gold

Wiggins won a Commonwealth Games silver medal on Thursday as England were beaten by Australia in the team pursuit.

He said he was "pretty happy" with the performance and had enjoyed working and training with the rest of the team.

"They are a fantastic bunch and it's been a great couple of weeks."

Wiggins has enjoyed remarkable success on road and track.

The same year he became the first Briton to win the Tour de France, he won Olympic gold in the time trial.

He had already tasted success on the Olympic stage, winning gold in the individual pursuit at the Athens Games in 2004, then gold in the individual pursuit and team pursuit in the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Wiggins said he was in discussions with Team Sky about his future.

But he gave a clear indication where his focus would be when he said: "I don't want to have to miss things on the track because of my commitments on the road."

Wiggins was in Team Sky colours when he won the Tour de France but felt his days with Sir Dave Brailsford's outfit were drawing to a close.

He was overlooked for this year's Tour as Brailsford opted for Chris Froome, the 2013 champion, as team leader.

"I've had my time there and had success with it," said Wiggins. "Things move on and it's natural evolution."

He also suggested that Team Sky might not want him either.

"Team Sky has become so competitive now and it's all about winning Grand Tours," he said. "It's whether they've got a place for an ex-Tour winner to use the racing to prepare for the track."

Wiggins, who says he will return to training on Monday, also insisted he was not taking a "step down" by concentrating on the track.

"The track is where it all began for me," the Ghent-born star told BBC Sport's Jill Douglas. "I'd love it to finish it on a high there."


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