Wiggins to go from Brad to worst to first

Surely no-one can prevent reigning Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins winning the London 2012 Olympic Games men`s individual time trial and putting a smile back on the dial of British cycling fans still sulking over the road race.

Wiggins and his Great Britain teammates could not keep the London 2012 Olympic Games men`s road race peloton together for the world`s fastest sprinter, Mark Cavendish, to win gold on the opening day of official competition.

From Brad to worst was one of the savage newspaper headlines that greeted Wiggins on the morning after the London 2012 Olympic Games men`s road race so the Tour de France king will not want for motivation in his favourite event.

Starting and finishing at Hampton Court Palace in the city`s south west, the London 2012 Olympic Games men`s individual time trial will be contested over 44 predominately flat kilometres. It would have been very difficult for Games organisers to select a course better suited to Wiggins.

Not that Wiggins needs any help from his compatriots, such as has been is dominance of the individual time trial discipline in cycling around the world this year.

It is common knowledge that Wiggins destroyed his Tour de France rivals not once but twice in individual time trials over distances similar to the one over which he will race for London 2012 Olympic Games gold. What is less well known is that the Briton was dominating the race of truth long before the three-week ride around France and its neighbours.

Bookmakers have chalked up Wiggins at around 1-2 to win the London 2012 Olympic Games men`s individual time trial, a race in which there is probably no more than four serious contenders - the favourite, Tony Martin, Fabian Cancellara and this year`s Tour de France runner-up, Chris Froome.

Odds of 1-2 equate to a winning chance of 67 per cent but surely Wiggins would win at least eight times out of 10, which would imply odds of 1-4. Anything over 1-3 about Wiggins recording the fastest time constitutes value.

There are four London 2012 Olympic Games swimming gold medals up for grabs on the fifth day of competition, including the blue-riband men`s 100 metres freestyle in which James Magnussen will bid to salvage his reputation following Australia`s loss in the sprint freestyle replay.

The Missile imploded under the intense pressure of leading Australia`s relay team and, while his heat time was not all that far off his personal best, his performance in the final means that he cannot be trusted at odds of around 4-6.

The London 2012 Olympic Games men`s 100 metres freestyle value against Magnussen are Yannick Agnel and Cesar Cielo at odds of around 6-1 and 15-2 respectively. Split your stakes at those prices and you can get better than 11-4 about either the Frenchman or Brazilian taking out the race.

Team GB plays Uruguay in the London 2012 Olympic Games men`s football tournament, with bookmakers unable to split the sides for the Millennium Stadium match. On lines through Senegal and the United Arab Emirates, Team GB deserves clear favouritism and, therefore, it represents a decent betting proposition for once. Usually, it is quoted under the odds.

The Cardiff crowd should get their money`s worth because Uruguay has to come out and attack Team GB since anything other than an away win will eliminate the South Americans.

All up there are 20 London 2012 Olympic Games gold medals being handed out on Wednesday 1 August, the most of any single competition day in the first half a dozen.

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30/07/2012     © Frixo 2026