Sir Bradley Wiggins suffering from chest infection and head cold at Giro d'Italia
Bradley Wiggins revealed he has been suffering from a chest infection and is "not feeling very good".
Last Updated: 16/05/13 11:03am
The 33-year-old Briton has endured a difficult first half of the race, with a crash on stage seven being compounded by mechanical problems on stage eight's time trial and an error of judgement on stage four.
It has left him fourth in the general classification, 2min 5sec behind leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and one second behind team-mate Rigoberto Uran, who is now being tipped to replace him as leader of Team Sky.
However, Wiggins admitted after stage 11, in which he finished safely in the peloton, that illness has also been a contributing factor to his subdued form.
"I am not feeling very good at the moment," he said. "I have had a pretty rough 24 hours. I have got a chest infection and a bog-standard head cold.
"Fortunately in these days, these kinds of stages, there is just a bit of fighting and you can get through them and hide a little bit.
'Fighting through it'
"But I just want to try and fight through it and hope that in a few days' time I will be all right."
Wiggins is not the only Team Sky rider to have been under the weather during the race, with Italy's Dario Cataldo suffering from sickness in the opening stages.
"Most of the team have been sick," Wiggins added. "It seems to last for three or four days and then you get better."
Asked if the Giro d'ltalia was a tougher race than the Tour de France, Wiggins replied: "The Tour of Picardie is a bloody hard race if you get sick. There is only so much you can do."
Despite Wiggins's troubles, Nibali is refusing to write his old rival off, and is also conscious of the challenge posed by veteran Australian Cadel Evans, who lies second overall, 41 seconds down.
Nibali said: "Wiggins, Evans, Uran and (2011 Giro winner Michele) Scarponi are all my most serious rivals. And there is still a long way to go."
