Wiggins Wins British Time Trial Title
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Bradley Wiggins was in dominant form while winning the British national time trial championship at the Celtic Manor course in Newport, south Wales, on Thursday. Wiggins, the 2012 Tour de France and Olympic time-trial champion, made light of persistent rain to complete the 25-mile course in 53 minutes and 56 seconds. That gave him a winning margin of 68 seconds over Team Sky team-mate Geraint Thomas, while Movistar’s Alex Dowsett – who had been aiming for a fourth successive crown – finished third.
AFP / Ethan Glading
Although Sky have to announce their team for this year’s Tour, Wiggins does not expect to be a member of a team led by 2013 race-winner Chris Froome. Instead he is concentrating on next month’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Tour of Spain.
“It is what it is,” Wiggins said. “I think the team they are sending (to the Tour de France) is an incredible team. “You’ve got a defending champion (Froome) who is going to be the favourite to win it, you have got the likes of Geraint, who could win on Sunday and take the British road title into the Tour, so the team that is going…you couldn’t fault it really.
“With my crash in Switzerland, I probably lacked some preparation, so it came down that there were probably eight better guys that could go in front of me. “I would have liked to have been there, but the squad is so strong now. “It’s disappointing on a personal level, but I think from a team point of view they have probably put the strongest squad up as it stands today.”
Thursday’s victory gave Wiggins his third British national time trial title.
“To wear this jersey in Europe is always a privilege,” he said. “This will probably be my last British time trial championship, so to win it is a nice way to end it, as it were, and add it to the Olympic title,” the 34-year-old added. “Any time trial you go into as Olympic champion, you want to win it. This is probably the best national championship they have had in terms of the standard.”
In the women’s race, Emma Pooley won her third national time trial title, completing a 12-mile course in 30 minutes and 18 seconds, with defending champion Joanna Rowsell 83 seconds behind in sixth place. Katie Archibald was spot, Sarah Storey third, Elinor Barker fourth and London 2012 star Laura Trott fifth.