Bradley Wiggins will return to action at the Vuelta a Espana, which starts on Saturday (August 20) in Benidorm, after being confirmed as Team Sky’s leader for the Spanish Grand Tour.
- Bradley Wiggins will lead Team Sky at the Vuelta
Wiggins crashed out of July’s Tour de France but will return to competitive action in a squad that includes fellow Brits Chris Froome and Ian Stannard.
“I’m looking forward to making my return at the Vuelta a Espana,” said Wiggins. “It’s a race I haven’t ridden before so it’ll be exciting to take part in and I want to produce a strong performance for all those people who have supported me since my crash at the Tour de France.
“The level of encouragement I’ve received has been overwhelming and I’d like to do everyone proud. I have a great team here to support me and it should be a really exciting three weeks of racing.”
Thomas Löfkvist, Team Sky’s leader at the Giro d’Italia, Italia duo Dario Cioni and Morris Possoni, and Xabier Zandio, riding his fifth home tour, will support Wiggins in the mountains, while 10-time Grand Tour veteran Kurt-Asle Arvesen and Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne winner Chris Sutton, who will contest the sprints, complete the line-up.
“Everyone was pleased with the team’s performance at the Tour de France and we will be looking to continue racing in the same way at the Vuelta a Espana,” said David Brailsford, whose team withdrew from their debut Vuelta last year after the death of soigneur Txema Gonzalez.
“Having Bradley back has reinvigorated us all. He will lead the team and has recovered and trained well since his operation, but the fact he hasn’t been able to race for seven weeks means we will have to take things day by day.”
ITV4 will broadcast two hours live coverage of every stage and a daily highlights show throughout the race, presented by Ned Boulting and with Matt Rendell providing analysis.
The digital channel attracted 750,000 viewers when Mark Cavendish secured the Tour de France green jersey on the Champs Elysees – more than who watched England beat India in the First Test at Lord’s on Sky – and the broadcaster is looking to capitalise, with both Wiggins and HTC-Highroad sprinter Mark Cavendish set to feature in the three-week race.
ITV’s controller of sport Niall Sloane said: “It’s been a terrific year for British cycling with more viewers than ever before watching ITV4’s coverage of the Tour de France earlier this summer. I’m delighted that we’re able to offer viewers free-to-air coverage of the Vuelta a Espana.”
Thor Hushovd to lead Garmin-Cervelo at the Tour of Britain
Meanwhile, world champion Thor Hushovd will lead a strong Garmin-Cervelo at the Tour of Britain, which starts in Scotland on the same day as the final stage of the Vuelta (Sunday September 11).
- World champion Thor Hushovd won two stages during July’s Tour de France
The Norwegian, who won two stage at July’s Tour de France, was controversially left out of Garmin’s provisional Vuelta squad, with team principal Jonathan Vaughters instead opting for Tyler Farrar and Heinrich Haussler in a two-pronged sprint attack.
Three Brits – David Millar, Dan Lloyd and Roger Hammond – are named in the squad for the eight-day race, all looking to earn a spot in Great Britain’s eight-man World Championship squad.
The Tour of Britain starts in the Scottish Borders before heading to Cumbria, Staffordshire, Wales, Devon, Somerset and East Anglia, finishing with a double stage in London, starting with an individual time trial ahead of the final criterium.
“We are very pleased to have such a strong Garmin-Cervelo line-up racing at this year’s Tour of Britain, and very much look forward to welcoming the current world champion Thor Hushovd to the tour,” said race director Mick Bennett.
“British fans will also be looking forward to seeing Roger Hammond, Dan Lloyd and David Millar in action. We saw during the Eneco Tour that David [third overall] is currently in great form, so I’m sure he will be highly motivated to do well in the TfL London stage individual time trial.”
