Sir Dave Brailsford hopes Sky can keep Sir Bradley Wiggins

Sir Dave Brailsford says he is hopeful that Team Sky can keep Sir Bradley Wiggins despite the rider saying on Thursday that he is finished with road racing.

Speaking after he helped England take Commonwealth Games silver in the team pursuit in Glasgow, Wiggins, who has yet to sign a contract for next season, said he wanted to focus on aiming for a gold medal in that event at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

He recently said that his other remaining career goal was winning Paris-Roubaix, but on Thursday insistedthat he was “done” with road racing, saying that he had “bled it dry” and describing it as “quite cut-throat” and “political.”

He added: "The track feels more like a family and a closer-knit group of people."

Team Sky principal Brailsford told BBC Sport that Wiggins is “entitled to his opinion,” and that he hoped he would remain with the UCI WorldTour outfit.

"That's what we are discussing at the moment, to try to see if we can find this ideal scenario for Rio," he said.

Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh rode races including the Giro d’Italia for Sky in 2012 as part of their preparation for the London Olympics where they took gold in the team pursuit.

Brailsford, who stepped down from hsi role with British Cycling earlier this year, said that the success of Kennaugh and Thomas showed it was possible to combine road and track riding. "It's doable, that's for sure," he added.