Bradley Wiggins slams Team Sky – urging young riders not to join as it would ‘ruin’ their career
The 2012 Tour de France champ and five-time Olympic gold medallist feels his old team is blighted by a 'negative' atmosphere amid drug tests controversy
BRADLEY WIGGINS has aimed an extraordinary shot at Team Sky - and has urged young riders not to join as it would "ruin" their careers.
The 2012 Tour de France champion and Olympic legend feels his old team is too blighted by a "negative" atmosphere following controversy over drugs tests.
Their most successful rider ever - Wiggins' former Team GB colleague Chris Froome - failed a test at last year’s Vuelta a España.
And Team Sky are under rising pressure to hand in their appeal - if they are serious about clearing their name.
report the words Wiggins directed at the next generation of bikers as he unveiled his riders for Team Wiggins, an Under-23 line-up.
After being asked what advice he would give team newcomer Tom Piddock, Wiggins replied: “Don’t go to Sky in the future, steer clear of them.
“Go somewhere else because they’ll ruin you.”
Team Sky are looking to find and provide a satisfactory reason why Froome had twice the permitted amount of asthma drug salbutamol in a urine sample.
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But Wiggins also feels Team Sky's dominance - winning five of the last six Tour de France crowns - has left a cloud of suspicion and cynicism following cycling around.
The five-time Olympic champion, 37, said: "There’s a lot of talk about them at the moment and there’s a lot of negative talk as well, which is the reality.”
Wiggins himself threatened to sue UK Anti-Doping for a “malicious witch hunt” after a probe into whether be broke rules with Team Sky in 2011.
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Both the rider and team say a mysterious jiffy bag contained a legal decongestant, not as claimed a banned corticosteroid.
And, although Ukad dropped their investigation, the authorities were unhappy with the 'help' they received from Team Sky and Co in trying to verify the bag's contents.
Wiggins said this week: "I’m going to have my say on that very soon.”