Sir Bradley Wiggins says the chance to play the role of elder statesman at the Commonwealth Games gave him a new lease of life.

It has been a mixed year for Wiggins after missing out on selection for the Tour de France.

However, the seven-time Olympic medallist bounced back from that disappointment with gold in the time trial at the Road World Championships and silver in the men’s pursuit.

And Wiggins believes the return to the track was an invaluable lifeline.

“I needed that world title just to confirm what happened in 2012 was not just a purple patch that comes along once in a lifetime,” he said.

“The Commonwealth Games was also a real saving grace for me.

“The guys in our group – people like Ed Clancy – are almost young kids to me, and the way they looked up to me, gave me so much respect and said such nice things about me in public gave me renewed motivation.

“It was so nice, fathering them through that process. Even though we lost in the gold medal race, it marked a starting point for the next two years in the build-up to Rio.

“In some ways, it was better losing in Glasgow – it gave us an incentive to improve, and for me it was literally a silver lining in more ways than one.”

© Sportsbeat 2014