Wiggins relieved after Tour of Britain victory

Sir Bradley Wiggins expressed relief after ending his barren streak by winning the Tour of Britain.
Team Sky's Sir Bradley Wiggins on the Embankment during stage eight of the 2013 Tour of Britain in London. (Picture: Tim Ireland/PA Wire)Team Sky's Sir Bradley Wiggins on the Embankment during stage eight of the 2013 Tour of Britain in London. (Picture: Tim Ireland/PA Wire)
Team Sky's Sir Bradley Wiggins on the Embankment during stage eight of the 2013 Tour of Britain in London. (Picture: Tim Ireland/PA Wire)

The 2012 Tour de France and Olympic time-trial champion took a permanent hold on the leader’s gold jersey as the first Team Sky rider to win its home tour as Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) won on Whitehall.

Wiggins immediately turned his attentions to Wednesday’s Road World Championships time-trial in Italy.

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“The feeling at the moment is more just relief than anything else,” said Wiggins, after his first stage-race triumph since the 2012 Tour de France.

“I said I wanted to win it. It is pressure for the whole week.

“Until you cross the line you just don’t know. It’s all right to think it’s a bit of a ceremony round London, but it certainly isn’t.

“You cross the line, you’re pumped up. It’s relief that you’ve finished and fulfilled it for your team and your team-mates.

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“From (this morning) my thoughts turn to the World Championships and this will probably be forgotten. It’s a bit like the Tour with the Olympics. Win the Tour one day, the next day you’re thinking about the Olympics.”

Wiggins, who took the race lead with victory in Tuesday’s time-trial at Knowsley Safari Park and defended it with his Team Sky squad until the end, was nervous until the conclusion in central London.

He feared a crash and a split in the peloton on the last of the 10 8.8kms laps which would have granted Martin Elmiger a chance to steal the title.

In the end IAM Cycling’s Elmiger had to be content with second, 26 seconds behind, while Simon Yates of the Great Britain Under-23 team finished third overall, further illustration of his potential after winning the points race world title on the track and two stages of the prestigious Tour de l’Avenir.

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Wiggins praised the crowd support throughout the eight-day event, which began in Peebles last Saturday, describing it as “overwhelming at times” as he bounced back from a troubled year which saw him withdraw from the Giro d’Italia and miss the defence of his Tour de France title. “There was an element of going through the motions in all the races early in the season,” added Wiggins.

Burley in Wharfedale’s Scott Thwaites, 23, was the highest placed Yorkshire finisher in the general classification, coming home 28th, eight minutes 15 seconds down on Wiggins. Guiseley-based Rob Partridge was three minutes further back in 33rd, Keighley’s Tom Moses finished 41st, Skipton’s Pete Williams was 56th and Wiggins’s team-mate Josh Edmondson, of Leeds, was 76th

Rotherham’s Dean Downing – who finished 17th on yesterday’s final stage – was 94th overall.

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