Bradley Wiggins Sets His Sights on Top Tier of Tour Podium

Bradley Wiggins stopped just short of saying he can win the Tour de France at the start of stage two of the Tour of Britain in Darlington yesterday, but the implication was clear. "I believe I can get on the podium and do better than the podium," said Wiggins – and as better than the podium means being the actual winner, it is clear that he is setting his sights high next year.

Having finished 37 seconds behind the third-placed Lance Armstrong in Paris, Wiggins recognises that avoidable errors might have cost him a place on the podium. "We made so many mistakes in the Tour and yet I was only seconds off third," he said, referring to the split on stage three that Armstrong infiltrated and Wiggins missed and also that he neglected to reconnoitre any of the stages.

"I don't think Lance is a better athlete than me any more," Wiggins said. "He probably used to be but not any more. He played it well tactically and didn't miss a beat during the race, from the split on day three to winning the team time trial [in which Wiggins's Garmin team were second, having shed most of their riders]. I was stronger than him in the time trials and on certain mountain stages." Rumors continue to circulate that he could be one of the 10 riders still to be signed by Team Sky for 2010.

"I think [there's more to] come next year. I'll go into the race with more self‑belief, a bit more confidence, having looked at the course beforehand and checked out the mountain stages. I never imagined I'd finish fourth this year so it's a bit like finishing sixth in the individual pursuit about eight years ago. That made me think I could actually beat [Australia's] Brad McGee."

In the 2004 Olympic final in Athens Wiggins did precisely that, before becoming the first rider to defend the Olympic pursuit title in Beijing last year.

Wiggins rode the Tour of Britain last year, when the support was merely enthusiastic. This year, at the stage start in Scunthorpe and at the finish in York, and again yesterday in Darlington and Gateshead, it was overwhelming. The crowds seem to have turned out en masse for him, judging by the plethora of homemade banners urging "Go Wiggo".

"I didn't realize it would be like this," Wiggins said. "It shows how big cycling is getting in the UK."

The other difference is that this year, unlike last, Wiggins is race fit, with next week's world time-trial championship in Switzerland the final goal of his season. "Last year I spent more time in the bar at the hotel rather than racing," he said. "I've managed to carry decent form from the Tour and I'm enjoying it more."

Yesterday's second stage was won by the Dutchman Kai Reus, who broke clear on in the final 15km to score an emotional victory, his first in more than two years. In July 2007 Reus crashed while training in the French Alps and fell into a coma, in which he remained for 11 days, his life hanging in the balance.

The 24-year old, a former junior world champion, welled up when asked about his crash, though he cheered up when asked whether he will defend the yellow jersey on today's third stage from Peebles to Gretna. "I don't know," said Reus. "I'm totally knackered now."