ABU DHABI // Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Tour de France winner, will not be participating in this year’s Abu Dhabi Tour.
The second staging of the four-stage, 555km race begins on Thursday but it will go ahead without Wiggins. Representatives from Wiggins’s team confirmed to Cyclingnews.com on Thursday that the rider had pulled out.
Along with Vincenzo Nibali and Mark Cavendish, Wiggins had been one of the leading names announced at the official launch of the Abu Dhabi Tour last month. Though no reason has been given for the withdrawal, the five-time Olympic medallist had announced the end of his road career in September after finishing the Tour of Britain.
Late on Thursday, organisers of the Abu Dhabi Tour issued a statement expressing their surprise and disappointment with the development.
Organisers also pointed out that they expected Wiggins to participate in the race from the beginning, contrary to reports in which his representatives claimed that despite being on the provisional list, he had never committed to participating.
“Before the first announcement [on September 20], we received the approval from Team Wiggins to communicate the presence of Bradley Wiggins at the upcoming Abu Dhabi Tour,” the statement from Abu Dhabi Tour said.
“Last week the Official Enrolment Form was submitted by a Team Wiggins official to RCS Sport with the name of the rider Bradley Wiggins included in the provisional entry list.
”In addition, as is usual practise for a major race, flights and accommodation have been booked in the name of Bradley Wiggins and those accompanying him.
“The race organisers are surprised and disappointed to see different stories in the media regarding Bradley Wiggins and the Abu Dhabi Tour.
“It is important to clarify that the long-standing expectation has been that Sir Bradley will be riding the 2016 Abu Dhabi Tour, and that all operations by the race owner, race organiser and its representatives and agents have been based on that expectation in good faith.”
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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