The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, as they say – and for Bradley Wiggins that certainly rang true at the 2011 Tour de France.
Backed to become the first ever British winner of the Tour, Wiggins’ Criterium du Dauphine success had only served to further enhance the optimism surrounding the Brit.
And Wiggins was sat sixth overall at the start of stage six, thanks in part to Team Sky’s efforts in the team time trial on stage two, but a huge crash on stage seven put paid to his ambitions.
A broken collarbone forced Wiggins out of the race and, as Mark Cavendish went on to become the first Brit to pull on the green jersey, his compatriot could only rue what might have been as Cadel Evans won the maillot jaune.
As with many Tour de France crashes, as one window closed another did open, with Wiggins recovering from that injury and joining team-mate Chris Froome at the Vuelta a Espana and the duo finishing third and second respectively at the final Grand Tour of the season.
