Wiggins: "I won't be at the Tour"...the fallout is almost complete

Today, Sir Bradley Wiggins announced to the BBC (and not Sky) that “as it stands, I won’t be [at the Tour de France], probably," and going on to say that "I will probably have to leave Team Sky" to ever ride the Tour again. A shame really for all cycling fans hoping to see how the form he showed in winning the Tour of California might carry over into the Tour de France and how it might stack up in aid of, or against, his teams' leader, Chris Froome.

And by 'against' Froome, I mean the idea that Wiggins might have the form to show up with the instructions to help Froome but end up taking time of his own and putting himself into contention. As a past winner of the Tour de France, it would hardly be beyond all possibility that he could do it. Take time on the cobbled sections early in the Tour, limit his losses in the mountains and take more time back in the time-trial just before Paris.

I had said after that Tour of California in May that despite what he said about 'riding for Froome' at the Tour that I felt he had designs of his own on competing for the Yellow jersey again...clearly, Sky (and Froome) have thought this too.

Wiggins isn't being dropped because he lacks form, but because he's a risk to challenging Froome and thus destabilizing the defending champion, and given the harmony in which Sky like things to operate, they cannot have this. It would be like Mercedes F1 dropping Nico Rosberg because he's too big a threat to beating Lewis Hamilton. Thankfully La Via Clair didn't operate this way in 1986 when it came to selecting Greg LeMond to their Tour team to take on their defending champion Bernard Hinault.

As things are Froome would probably beat Wiggins head-to-head in this Tour even if he did show up and try take on his team-mate, but we're going to be denied finding out for sure and Froome (as well as the fans), should he win, will be left forever with the question 'what if Wiggins had been there...' hanging over him. This would be the second straight Tour he has won and it would be the second straight Tour in which the champion that came before him was not available to challenge him.

A Froome v Wiggins showdown is all going a little Mayweather v Pacquiao on us.

In a purely professional, robotic, singular minded focus of winning the Tour, of which Sky tick all the boxes, I suppose it makes sense in a way, but for fans of cycling and of good competition and of wanting the most in-form riders all there, and of those who like a bit of drama to their sport, this is not good news today.

That said, I believe you should pick your best possible team and worry about inter-team rivalry later in the race, should it crop up. Having two men challenge one another for the title is a luxury any other team would desire. But there is more: In a three week grand tour, anything can happen and often strange things do happen. Froome could have a bad day in the mountains, he could puncture and lose time on the cobbles, he could slip on a wet manhole on the first day and crash out. Then what Sky? Wiggins would give Sky a plan B; another option. If Wiggins's words today are true, Sky are very much choosing to put their eggs in one basket. It worked last year, will it work again?