Cycling fans in west Essex and East London will not get the chance to see Sir Bradley Wiggins race in this year’s Tour de France after Britain’s first winner of the event confirmed, as expected, that he will not take part.

Wiggins’ Team Sky are expected to name their nine-man line-up for the race, which starts in Leeds on Saturday, July 5, later today. But after winning the British time-trial title last night, the 34-year-old confirmed he will not be included.

“It’s disappointing on a personal level, but I think from a team point of view they’ve probably put the strongest squad up as it stands,” Wiggins said.

“It is what it is. I think the team they are sending is an incredible team.

“You’ve got a defending champion (Chris Froome) who is going to be the favourite to win it, you have got the likes of Geraint Thomas, who could win on Sunday and take the British road title into the Tour, so the team that is going...you couldn’t fault it really.

“With my crash in [the Tour of] Switzerland, I probably lacked some preparation, so it came down that there were probably eight better guys that could go in front of me.”

Wiggins, who revealed earlier this month that he was unlikely to make Sky’s team, beat Thomas to win the time-trial crown, with defending champion Alex Dowsett back in third.