British Cycling

Bradley Wiggins in fine form in Europe and
Set for showdown with UK's top ranked cyclist David Millar

NOT JUST A GOOD FRIDAY BUT A SPECTACULAR ONE!
Spectacular Centenary Track meeting at London's historic Herne Hill Velodrome

Bradley Wiggins (Maida Vale, London, 22) who now rides for one of the World's most successful Division One cycling teams, FDJ.Com, is showing fine form in only his second season as a professional. Bradley is the only British cyclist to win medals in every major cycling Track Championship, including an Olympic Bronze at just age twenty, a World Championship as a junior and a European Championship, as well as many Silver and Bronze medals at senior/elite level in World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

Wiggins will be soon back to London for the "Good Friday Centenary Meeting at the historic Herne Hill track and his showdown with the UK's top rated international rider David Millar in the classic 10-minute Roadmans Pursuit. Millar, a silver medallist in the World Time Trial championship two years ago, twice a Tour de France stage winner and a yellow jersey holder, joins several top Australian riders including World and Commonwealth Games 4,000 meters pursuit Champion Brad McGee and 'Stuey' O'Grady, the winner of the Commonwealth Games Road race, and like McGee a Tour de France stage winner and also a holder of the converted Yellow Jersey.

Their participation should guarantee a truly spectacular Good Friday Track meeting and one which could easily be the best ever.

WIGGINS IN EUROPE
Bradley Wiggins within a week of finishing the toughest Paris-Nice event for years in his first ever major stage race followed that performance in fine style. Riding in the World's longest top classic the 297km(185 miles!) Milan-San Remo and in only his second ever World Cup race, he finished just a few seconds behind the Paris-Nice winner Alexandre Vinokurov (KAZ) and helped FDJ.com to third place in the team rankings finishing less than four minutes behind the winner.

Bradley who has never raced over 240 kms before said: "I had great legs and I worked very hard for my team-mates. I didn't do a bad job as three of them finished in the first twenty!! When we got to the final climb known as the 'Poggio', a crucial climb very near the finish of the event, I did a really hard turn for the guy's to get them in good positions. However I thought to myself, hey I have raced much further than ever before I should be really tired and eased off. It was surreal, and I actually thought after I swung off, my legs still felt good but I had sat up!"

"It was a weird feeling, why? I could still finish with the main group at least, but I cannot explain as I said it was kinda surreal. It's an awesome race; I love it and one day I hope to get the chance to ride for the win. I loved it!"

Talking about his Good Friday showdown with David Millar in the Ten Minute Pursuit, Bradley said "It will not be easy to beat Millar he is our best rider at the moment and the two Aussies McGee and O'Grady are awesome too but I have ridden the event twice and won twice so I really want the "hat-trick". I have a lot of support in London and around the country and hundreds of fans come to see me at the `Six-Day' race at Ghent". This is known as the local "British" Six Day to many fans, a race where Bradley finished second last year but many thought Bradley and his partner should have won.

"I have heard about the Derny race. I love these races as well and I think my old sponsor Sport & Publicity might be supporting the event, so I will have to give that race my best shot too. It should be a hell of a days racing!".

Note: Bradley has a habit of leaving his challenge to the very last minute in these events so if he does ride it should be another of the highlights in what should be another event not to be missed.

* A Derny is an event where the riders are paced by small motorized bikes, bigger than a moped but smaller than a proper motobike.

Article by Richard Allchin of Sport and Publicity

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