London - Bradley Wiggins has the chance to end a frustrating year on a high as he attempts to defend his Tour of Britain title and win a first gold medal at the road world championships.
The 2012 Tour de France champion was named in the British team for the world championships in northern Spain on Thursday, offering him the chance to go one better than last year when he was beaten into first place by Germany's Tony Martin.
Wiggins was snubbed by Team Sky for this year's Tour de France, the British outfit opting for 2013 champion Chris Froome as their sole leader.
Froome, currently competing in the Vuelta after his disappointing Tour defence, is also on the British team list for the worlds and is likely to contest the road race.
Commonwealth Games road race champions Lizzie Armitstead and Froome's Team Sky team mate Geraint Thomas have also been selected for the road races.
“I'm pleased with the long-list of riders we have selected for the UCI Road World Championships, and we're fortunate to have a strong pool of riders from which to make our final selection,” British Cycling coach Shane Sutton said.
Olympic time trial champion Wiggins will warm up for the worlds by leading the Team Sky challenge in the Tour of Britain which starts in Liverpool this weekend.
“The Tour of Britain is a special race for me so to be returning as defending champion is a real honour,” Wiggins said.
“It's always been a tough race but the support we receive from the fans is incredible, and it's our home tour so I've always enjoyed racing it.” – Reuters