Sir Bradley Wiggins is out of the Tour De Suisse.
The Team Sky rider crashed on Stage four and received brusing and swelling to his right thigh which has got worse and forced his withdrawal from the race currently led by Tony Martin of Omega Pharma Quick Step.
Wiggins has withdrawn and will try and get himself fit for the British National Championships which take place in Monmouthshire next week. and he told the Team Sky website: “Ironically, I was the last man in the peloton, trying to stay out of trouble when it happened. They all slammed on the brakes ahead of me but there was another rider riding full gas who rode straight into the back of me.
“I’ve got quite a lot of swelling on the left-hand side of my right knee. It’s one of those things, I’ve been pretty fortunate this year with crashes. I probably could have started today but it’s best to play it safe and come home now. I really want to try to be ready for the Nationals next Thursday so I didn’t want to jeopardise that for the sake of pushing on and potentially doing more damage.
“Friday’s time trial had been my main goal for the Tour de Suisse, but I’d never have been 100% for it. I’ve also been struggling with a chest infection this week, which affected my ride on stage one, and that put me back a bit so I wouldn’t have been able to perform at my best there anyway.
“The plan is to get home today, have 24 hours off the bike and then I’ll be good to go again and finalise my preparations for Wales next week.”