On the battle for the green Jersey

Sir Bradley Wiggins

“It’s a different competition to when you [Sean Kelly] won it. It’s changed quite a bit, the intermediate sprints. Peter Sagan’s made it his own his own over the past few years. He’s not in the form he has been in the past. I think he could finally be beaten in this competition.”

Sean Kelly

“He’s not at his best and not as good as he was a number of years ago. I don’t have any worries that he won’t come good. He’s probably a little bit off his best… but I feel he’s in a good position and will get better as the race goes on. The green jersey – it would be nice to see someone challenge him because in the past I think he’s won it too easily. I was hoping Wout Van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) would have a go for it. Maybe [Matteo] Trentin can give it a run but it doesn’t look as though there will be a lot of challengers there.”

Sean Kelly on his toughest Tour de France:

“Probably my first one was probably my hardest. I was thrown in at a very early part of my career. It was my second year pro. I hadn’t really seen the big mountains coming from Ireland with hills over there. The Alps and the Pyrenees were a major shock to me and the severity of the climbs.”

Sean Kelly on Adam Yates

“There are difficult days to come in the next week, some on the mountain top finishes. He’s in a really good position. He’s going to be against the real GC challengers overall. It’s a question of how good is he? He’s got the talent, the ability to finish on these mountain top finishes with the best guys in that sort of shape.”

On Sam Bennett (Team Deceuninck-Quick Step)'s chances at taking stage wins

SIr Bradley Wiggins

“I think he [Sam Bennett] is the fastest man in the race in a straight line.”

Sean Kelly

“If you can deliver Sam Bennett in the final 180m at a high speed – he is one of the fastest.” 

On plans to host a revised UCI World Championships this year

Sean Kelly

“It’s good to see we’re going to have a World Championships because it was looking unlikely for a little while. Thibaut Pinot will be one that will like that type of route or circuit. It wasn’t going to be an easy one when it was in Aigle, close to the UCI headquarters, it was going to be a very difficult one. It’s not a big change if we’re going to have it at La Planche des Belle Filles and I think there will be a lot of riders happy.”

“I think it’s a good thing, a week after the Tour. It’s the perfect one if you come of out the Tour in good shape. Riders that finish the Tour well, it’s the perfect opportunity. But you have to be a climber to do well at La Planche des Belle Filles.”

Listen to the episode in full here.