BRADLEY WIGGINS has revealed the road time-trial at the London Olympics will be his ‘complete priority’.
Wiggins will target July’s Tour de France title before turning his attentions to London, where the 44-kilometre Hampton Court event against the clock on August 1 is his major goal.
The 31-year-old Londoner is a three-time Olympic champion on the track and could yet be parachuted into the team pursuit squad in the velodrome, but only as a super sub.
His role in support of Mark Cavendish in the July 28 road race is yet to be determined, but it is possible Wiggins may not complete the full 250km distance.
Wiggins was a key player in Cavendish’s World Championships win in Copenhagen in September – a performance the former picked as his highlight of 2011 – but the road race came after the time-trial, in which he was second to Germany’s Tony Martin.
The London 2012 schedule dictates Cavendish may not be able to rely on Wiggins, placing additional emphasis on the three remaining riders in the five-man team.
Asked how he approaches the road race given the schedule, Wiggins said: “With complete priority to the time-trial. That’s unfortunate, but that’s the way it is.
“I will have a job that day. The coaches will define that job that I do and it will be with the priority of the time-trial.
“Whether that involves the whole race, the first part of the race, who knows? That’s all part of the strategy going forward.”
The target prior to the Olympics is the Tour, which begins in Liege on June 30 and ends in Paris on July 22, and will see Wiggins and Cavendish compete alongside each other for Team Sky.
Wiggins will target the overall winner’s yellow jersey, while Cavendish will bid for stage wins in defence of the points classification’s green jersey.
After crashing out of July’s race, won by Australian Cadel Evans, and finishing third in the Tour of Spain, Wiggins now has the belief he can win the Tour.
“I think I’ve become more than just a time-trialist now, I think I’ve become a climber,” Wiggins said.
“It (the Tour of Spain) was a great performance, third place, but it was far from my best.”
The Tour is set to be the first time Wiggins and Cavendish ride in the same squad.
Cavendish, who is favourite for BBC Sports Personality of the Year, is with his new team-mates in Mallorca this week – and making quite an impression.
“Cav’s just Cav,” Wiggins said. “He’s talking about Sports Personality and how if he doesn’t win he’s going to be really annoyed. He’s constantly looking at the odds as to whether he’s favourite or not. It’s hilarious. He’s just Cav. A one-off.”
