Cycling: Wiggins anger over Swiss miss

(AP)

Olympian Bradley Wiggins' bid for a medal in the World Championships Time Trial ended in disaster yesterday with the Briton all but throwing his bike across the tarmac in frustration after a mechanical problem on the final lap in Switzerland.

Wiggins was just four seconds behind bronze medallist Tony Martin of Germany and closing the gap when the incident caused by a loose chain forced him to a snail's pace. A quick bike change from the GB team car might just have saved the day, but it was stuck in race traffic.

Expecting the support car to be closer, Wiggins took his frustration out on the bike but in any case lost nearly two minutes before he could get back into action. The Londoner finally finished a disappointing 21st, nearly five minutes down on the race winner Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland.

"I was going perfect for my kind of race, Fabian aside I think I was on a good one," Wiggins said afterwards. "I jumped off the bike not knowing the team car wasn't there, and that was it, really. Race over. It's just the way it is and, to be honest, I've had a lot of luck this year, I've got through two major tours without crashing once."

Wiggins will conclude his season in the Sun Tour stage race in Australia next month.