It appears that Bradley Wiggins has decided not to compete in the Abu Dhabi Tour, after claiming last month that it would be his last appearance in a road race. It’s not the first time that Wiggins has changed his mind in relation to his race calendar – fans of the Tour of Britain had watched this year’s edition believing it to be Sir Bradley’s final road race. The Tour de France winner then surprised the cycling world when he was announced as part of Team Wiggins for the Abu Dhabi Tour, which starts on 20th October.
The Abu Dhabi race organisers were understandably pleased that the Olympian would be attending the 4-day race, and on Wednesday (12th October) Wiggins was still listed as an attendee. Representatives of Sir Bradley had a different story by Thursday, stating that the rider “had never committed” to the race, and that the team list which had included his name was only provisional. It was stated that Bradley would not be in attendance as he didn’t want to ‘jeapordise’ his preparation for the London Six Day, a track event which begins the day after the Abu Dhabi Tour ends.
The organisers of the race in the Emirates released a statement on Thursday evening announcing that they were ‘surprised and disappointed to see different stories in the media regarding Bradley Wiggins and the Abu Dhabi Tour’. The statement goes on to say that, in common with all major races, ‘flights and accomodation have been booked in the name of Bradley Wiggins and those accompanying him’. Wiggins’ name had been included on the Official Enrolement Form, which was submitted last week.
Race organisers explained that ‘the long-standing expectation has been that Sir Bradley will be riding the Abu Dhabi Tour’, and that all preparations in the run up to the event ‘have been based on that expectation in good faith’.
Freewheeling 