Bradley Wiggins is nothing if not enigmatic, but he remains one of British Cycling’s greatest talents on his day and is certainly capable of defending his Tour of Britain title.
A year without any Grand Tours, the 2012 Tour de France champion has nevertheless enjoyed a top-ten finish at Paris-Roubaix, won the Tour of California and bagged team pursuit silver on the track at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
His return to road racing has been low-key – the 34-year-old riding the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic, where he pulled hard on the front for Team Sky to test his legs, and the GP Ouest France-Plouay.
If he can recapture the sort of form he showed in this race last year, however, he is certainly a big contender for a second gold jersey.
Backed once again by the huge engines of Ian Stannard, road captain Bernie Eisel and David Lopez, Sky have a formidable squad for the race and if not Wiggins, then one of the quartet will certainly be in contention overall.
