Bradley Wiggins pulls out of Tour of Britain with illness

Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins has been forced to pull out of the Tour of Britain due to sickness.

Wiggins rode strongly early on in the Tour but Team Sky tweeted on Friday morning: “Unfortunately, Bradley Wiggins was unable to start stage six of the Tour of Britain today after picking up a stomach bug.”

Australian Leigh Howard (Orica-GreenEDGE) leads the race heading into stage six in Wales with the overall classification expected to be shaken up once again with multiple ascents of the Caerphilly Mountain climb.

On Thursday Wiggins had opted to drop back during the undulating stage five to wait for team-mate and then race leader Mark Cavendish, the subsequent time loss having ruled both riders out of the chance of victory.

is returning home to recover before next week’s world Championships.

Speaking after his withdrawal, Wiggins, who will now return how to recover ahead of the world championships said: “I’m sorry to have to pull out of the Tour.

“I’ve loved the last six days, meeting so many people around the country and enjoying those crowds along the roads. It’s been a great experience, but this bug sadly means I’ll now miss the climax this weekend.

“I’m sorry I can’t continue and would like to thank all those fans, of all ages, for the support. Those fans have really inspired us this week and this summer.

“I’d also like to wish Mark, Luke, Bernie, Christian and Jez all the best for the last three stages of the Tour. Sorry I can’t be there.”