Sir Bradley Wiggins has said that he is happy after ending his Team Sky career with an eighteenth place in the Paris-Roubaix race. Wiggins, who is moving on to develop a new team and prepare for the 2016 Olympics in Rio after a tenure which saw him with twenty three victories and win the Tour De France, told his team's website: "I’m relieved to get it over and done with and I’m happy with how it went. The tailwind made it tough out there because it meant the racing was on all day and there was no chance to relax like we normally do after the first few sectors.
"It was a tough edition but nice to be able to have a few attacks. I had my first go where I said I was going to go on the bus this morning. No-one else seemed to be expecting it there and I got myself in a pretty good position. It was unfortunate though that I got lumbered with a few riders who didn’t want to work and that meant it was chased down quite quickly.
"I felt like I had the legs to win, I think everybody in that group did. It could have been any one of us. When I made my attacks they said it was panic stations behind, but I think that came down to the pre-race hype when I said I was up for it. It is what it is.
"I’m happy. I’ve had a good run, and being a classics rider has been like a new job for me over the last two years – it was a hobby driven by my passion. Before the race I was trying really hard to not think about this being my last race for Team Sky. So many riders came up to me to wish me good luck and that was really nice. All these guys who you’ve been bashing heads with for years, never spoken to them, and they’re coming up to congratulate me on my career. It’s hard not to get emotional when that happens, but I got through it OK.
"I said at the start, I just want a clean run today, and I got that. I didn’t have one puncture, one crash. I came through it pretty well and I was pleased to finish in the top twenty."
Source: DSG
