Joanna Rowsell has revealed that Sir Bradley Wiggins has become the natural leader of Team England's cycling unit for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Wiggins's omission from the Team Sky lineup for the Tour de France, which he won in 2012, has freed him up to form part of his country's star-studded track squad.
There are eight gold medallists from London 2012 in the England ranks, including Laura Trott, Jason Kenny and Rowsell, who has admitted that 34-year-old Wiggins is the person that the rest of the group look to for advice.
"Everyone looks up to him," she told reporters. "When he makes a certain comment or observation, you instantly think, 'Oh, maybe we should do that'.
"It's also great to get him talking on a subject because he has such good stories to tell and he is fascinating to listen to. He is a great personality to have around the squad and he is such a good laugh as well.
"Big events like this can get quite stressful, so it's so nice to have experienced guys like Bradley around to lighten the mood and pass on some wisdom."
Wiggins, who has six Olympic and four World Championship track titles to his name but has never won a gold medal at a Commonwealth Games, begins his competition in the four-man team pursuit on Thursday.
Joe Fish
