Thursday 25 September 2014 11:07, UK
Sir Dave Brailsford described Sir Bradley Wiggins’s world time trial victory as one of the best performances against the clock he has ever seen.
Wiggins won his first world time trial title by defeating defending three-time champion Tony Martin by 26 seconds on a 47.1km course in Ponferrada, northern Spain.
The result makes up for second-place finishes to Martin in 2011 and 2013 and means Wiggins now holds the national, world and Olympic time trial titles at the same time.
Brailsford, who is Wiggins’s team principal at Team Sky but is also acting head coach of Great Britain at this week’s UCI Road World Championships, told Sky Sports News HQ: “It was a healthy margin in the end, that’s for sure.
“It’s one of the best-executed time trial rides I have ever seen and it was a fitting way for Brad to get that title.”
Wiggins is only the second Briton to win the world time trial title after Chris Boardman, who claimed the rainbow jersey in the event’s inaugural year in 1994.
It also means he now has a world title on the road to go with the six he has won on the track, and Brailsford is confident Wiggins can continue to add to his palmares in the future.
“He is one of the greats,” Brailsford added. “He is iconic now in the world of British sport and I think he can still go on from here. He has still got ambitions for Rio [the 2016 Olympic Games], Paris-Roubaix and for the hour record.
“He is hungry and still wants to keep adding to what is already an incredible roster of titles.”
Brailsford also confirmed that Wiggins is close to extending his contract with Team Sky in a deal that will accommodate his ambitions to represent Great Britain on the track in Rio.
“We are very close,” Brailsford added. “We are looking at putting together a package which isn’t a traditional sort of contract. It’s more built around supporting him through to Rio and giving him some options on the road with Team Sky next year.
“It’s a creative idea and we are working on it. It is looking optimistic and it would be great to carry on to try to get more titles.”
