Sir Bradley Wiggins has still to decide on his future although positive negotiations with Team Sky continue despite the 2012 winner having been omitted from the team's Tour de France squad.
Wiggins spoke of his intention to stay at Team Sky at an event for one of the British squad's sponsors in Italy over the weekend, at which he outlined his wish to challenge for the Hour Record and the Paris-Roubaix one-day race in 2015.
His contract with Team Sky, run by Sir Dave Brailsford, expires at the end of the year, but it is understood that no deal has been agreed and Wiggins is likely to wait until the autumn to decide his future plans, with many options up for consideration.
Orica-GreenEdge and Garmin-Sharp, the team he left to sign for Team Sky for its inaugural season in 2010, have spoken of their admiration for Wiggins and could compete for his signature. His relationship with Team Sky is good, though, and Brailsford, his mentor at British Cycling for more than a decade, has spoken of his wish to keep hold of the four-time Olympic champion.
Brailsford said last week: "Bradley is a fantastic champion and we'd like him to continue with Team Sky. We'll continue to discuss that with him and see if we can find a way to support him through to Rio."
Wiggins is currently preparing for a track return at the Commonwealth Games later this month and his long-term aim is to compete in the velodrome at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, in the team pursuit.
Brailsford would likely be prepared to tailor Wiggins' road racing programme to allow him to commit to the track; whether other teams would remains to be seen.
The 34-year-old, the first British winner of the Tour in 2012, still has ambitions on the road, too, particularly the Paris-Roubaix one-day race in which he finished ninth in April, and he could target Grand Tours despite having had a chastening experience at the 2013 Giro d'Italia.
Wiggins' future has been the subject of much speculation since Team Sky principal Brailsford chose to leave him out of the squad for this year's race - a decision brought under renewed focus when defending champion Chris Froome was forced to withdraw on stage five with fractures to his left wrist and right hand.
Wiggins and Froome have not raced together since February 2013, but could be reunited at Vuelta a Espana, which begins in Jerez on August 23, as Wiggins has targeted the race as preparation for a tilt at the world time trial title in September.
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