On the eve of the Worlds Bradley Wiggins gives his tips, his view on Matt Brammeier's new British Cycling job and breaks the news he is no longer aiming for the Olympic rowing team.
Bradley Wiggins talks Matt Brammeier & Worlds tips
Bradley Wiggins has said he is no longer trying to make the Team GB rowing selection for the 2020 Olympics.
And on The Bradley Wiggins Show on Eurosport he also said Matt Brammeier’s transfer into a management position at British Cycling would benefit the GB road teams.
Asked by the show’s host Adam Green if he was still rowing, Wiggins said: “I'm still training every day, most days, with it.
"But I've decided that I'm not going for the Olympics because I've got too much other stuff to do.
"I need to give myself a break. I just haven't got time to train three times a day. To the level I want to do it to it's a full-time job in itself."
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The Team Wiggins owner has been trying to put together a women’s pro team. But it was proving very difficult. And he may now make it a development team.
Asked what he thought of Matt Brammeier managing the British Worlds team rather than Rod Ellingworth, Wiggins believed the change was positive.
“It freshens it up a bit. It’s not that Sky stranglehold on BC and everyone just changing T-shirts.
“Most of the time they’ve the Sky mechanics there and the Sky trucks there. They use the Sky bus even though you’re in British duty.
"So (Brammeier leading), it’s refreshing really. It’s a breath of fresh air; new ideas and someone putting their own stamp on it.
“Having said that; Matt’s come through the whole system anyway,” he said of Brammeier who was part of the Team GB set-up before declaring for Ireland.
"He was one of Rod’s boys, same age as Geraint; came out of that class of 2003-4-5. I only see it as a good thing,” he added of Matt Brammeier's new role.
The four-time Irish road race champion is now lead academy coach for British Cycling's men’s endurance programme.
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Matt Brammeier on the attack at the Tour of Flanders 2015; he's now a central part of British Cycling's set-up. Primoz Roglic won Giro and Tour stages last year. But Wiggins said he hadn't been watching much cycling then and only heard of Roglic during this year's Tour.
Asked who the favourites at the Worlds were, Wiggins cited Simon Yates, Julian Alaphilippe, Michael Matthews and Peter Sagan.
Wiggins, a former world TT champion, said good sprinters might get over the hills and Sagan may be on a great day.
He added everyone believed the Rio Olympics course was one for climbers. Yet Greg van Avermaet won.
Wiggins believed Sagan would “pop up” on the last lap in Innsbruck. Sagan was “the face of the sport” and he hoped he won again.
Bradley Wiggins also mentioned Vincenzo Nibali and Alejandro Valverde as possible winners.
In the TT, Wiggins said while Tony Martin “seems past his best” he might be able to push defending champion Tom Dumoulin.
Vasil Kiryienka may also surprise and win again. But his outright favourite was Rohan Dennis.
Reflecting on season
In the TTT, Wiggins tipped Team Sky and QuickStep; the latter “the only team I follow on Instagram”.
He also believed Chris Froome would be disappointed with his season because he did not win the Giro-Tour double.
But, he added, Froome would be back next year trying to win his fifth Tour de France.
Wiggins also said Primoz Roglic would win a Grand Tour, adding he had never heard of him until this year’s Tour.
And he believed Simon Yates could ride at the top of another 10 years. While his Vuelta win was impressive, it had not resonated as much as Thomas winning yellow in Paris in July,
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