LONDON: Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins will aim to kickstart Britain’s bid for gold medals at the Olympics when he lines up as favorite for the men’s road race time trial later Wednesday.
Emma Pooley, the silver medallist in the women’s event in Beijing, has a chance of upstaging Wiggins in her race against the clock which starts at the earlier time of 1130 GMT (1230).
However, it is Wiggins the British public and media have turned out in their thousands to support.
Fresh from a maiden and historic Tour de France victory, the Londoner lines up confident in his chances in the 44 km race against the clock after winning both of the long time trials which featured on the Tour de France.
His main rivals are Germany’s world champion Tony Martin, Switzerland’s defending champion Fabian Cancellara as well as American tyro Tyler Phinney.
Both Martin and Cancellara are recovering from injury following recent crashes, and Martin admitted: “There’s just one name and it’s Bradley Wiggins. He’s the one to beat.”
Thousands of fans lined the roads out at Hampton Court Palace, the former home of King Henry VIII, to support the British riders.
Some were wearing the cut-out sideburns like the real ones worn by Wiggins and given out free by British tabloid newspapers to urge readers to back him in the pursuit of the country’s maiden gold.
Pooley, meanwhile, faces the challenge of overcoming a host of specialist racers in the discipline in America’s defending champion Kristin Armstrong, German Judith Arndt, New Zealand’s Linda Villumsen and Canadian Clara Hughes.
