Sir Bradley WIggins insists GB team pursuit squad aren't "in a Chelsea situation"

Sir Bradley Wiggins insists that Great Britain’s men’s team pursuit squad aren’t “in a Chelsea situation” despite failing to win a medal in last weekend’s UCI Track World Cup in Cali, Colombia.

Next August, Wiggins hopes to ride for a fifth Olympic gold medal in an event that Team GB have won at the past two Olympic Games, including at Beijing in 2008 where he was part of the victorious squad.

In Colombia, Great Britain’s qualifying time was only the fourth quickest and their time in the first round was not fast enough to put them into contention for a medal ride, with Russia beating Switzerland to gold and Australia clinching gold ahead of Denmark.

In the ride-off for fifth place against Germany, however, Great Britain, with Wiggins riding alongside Andy Tennant, Steven Burke and Owain Doull, were back on form, overlapping their rivals when set to clock a time well inside any of those in the medal rides.

Wiggins, who returned to the track earlier this year to set the current UCI Hour Record at Lee Valley VeloPark in June and is now focused on that Rio berth, told Sky Sports News that “There were a lot of positives to take” from Cali.

- Sir Bradley Wiggins smashes the UCI Hour Record

“In the final ride, we were riding off for fifth and we were on World Record pace for 2.5 kilometres with the line-up we had.”

He continued: "Things like that you take more from, so it wasn't really about the colour of the medal or the position. The main one was the European title, which we won a few weeks ago, and travelling out to Colombia, with the time difference and everything, was more of an experimental project.

- GB team pursuiters take double gold at European Track Championships

"We are not racing now until the World Championships [in London] in March, so in competition, there aren't too many chances to try different things, which is what we did last week, so we're not really looking too much into the result.

Referring to the defending FA Premier League champions’ dismal start to the season that has cast doubt over manager Jose Mourinho’s future at Stamford Bridge, Wiggins maintained: “We haven't got a Chelsea situation on our hands."

On the subject of his return to the track, the 2012 Tour de France winner and Olympic time trial champion said: "It's been really refreshing, being able to come from the road programme and come into a completely different world, one I started out on 15 years ago in Sydney at the Olympics.

- Olympic men's time trial: Bradley Wiggins wins to seal his place in history

"It's like starting all over again,” he added. “It's refreshing to be able to do that. I'm very fortunate that I was able to do that because it breathes new life and motivation into you."