Tour De France: Wiggins glad he is out of Tour that has 'lost all credibility'

The British cyclist Bradley Wiggins delivered a devastating critique of this year's scandal- ridden Tour de France yesterday, saying it had "lost all credibility" and that it was "null and void as far as I am concerned this year". Wiggins' team, Cofidis, quit the Tour en masse after his team-mate Cristian Moreni tested positive for testosterone.

Speaking at a press conference 48 hours after leaving France, the man named London's "Tour ambassador" for the race's opening weekend expressed serious disillusionment with the event. "No one has faith in who is wearing the yellow jersey," said the Olympic gold medallist. "I'm quite pleased I'm here and out of it. I've no regrets that I am not there. It's not a nice place to be."

A more than respectable fifth in the stage 13 time trial - won by Alexander Vinokourov, the pre-race favourite who later tested positive - Wiggins said: "Up to the point I left it had been a fantastic race for me on a personal level."

But the seemingly never-ending stream of doping scandals - and a fresh one is rumoured to be about to descend on the Tour today - has left the Briton glad to be out of the race. "My initial reaction was, 'I'm going to get out of the sport'," he said. "It was sheer anger but once I settled down a bit, I'm willing to see this thing through."

Wiggins was adamant that the sport cannot be written off. "It's wrong to say everyone is doing it. I'm not bitter but I am angered by it. It has made me determined to come through this whole thing and prove there can be clean winners in this sport. That made my determination even stronger."

Wiggins' disappointment was echoed by the former Tour winner Greg LeMond, who said the yellow jersey "should not be awarded to anyone this year". But Wiggins argued "as we stand, [race leader Alberto] Contador is going to be a worthy winner as he hasn't failed any tests. But unfortunately, there is the suspicion out thereyou can't win it unless you are taking something."

For Dave Brailsford, director of British Cycling's World Class Performance Plan recent developments in the Tour "confirmed a lot of our suspicions". He agreed with Wiggins that a lot of the problems were generational - older professionals, like Vinokourov had yet to realise that the time of chemically fuelled victories had to be consigned to the past. "Watching Vinokourov in the time trial, we could see something didn't add up. And [following Vinokourov's positive for blood transfusion] we've been confirmed as right.

"It just strengthens my belief in bringing forward young riders, a whole new generation that are raised on the principles of racing clean - as we are doing in British Cycling. And it also makes me more determined than ever to get a British Cycling ProTour team off the ground."

Brailsford was also critical of Cofidis: "It's one thing to preach zero tolerance towards doping and another thing to carry it out," he said. "What is the point of having a 34-year-old Italian [Moreni], an 'old-school' pro on the team? You've got to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. You have to be utterly vigilant."

He was, though, dismissive of recent calls for cycling to be banned from the 2012 Olympics. "Where would that leave the Bradleys of this world? That idea is the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard."

Alasdair Fotheringham writes for www.cyclingweekly.co.uk

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